Captain
by verticallimit379
Summary: Fluff stoy about what happenes when people are pushed to their limits.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Ok this story is a bit of a twist. I wanted to see how far I could stretch the characters while still keeping true to them, take them to their limits. Hopefully I did alright. Enjoy!**

Detectives Ryan, Esposito and Beckett sat quietly at their desks while Rick Castle sat nearby, typing away merrily on his cell phone. They were in between cases at the moment and didn't have a whole lot to do except backed up paperwork.

Captain Montgomery poked his head out of his office door. "Detective Beckett, can I see you for a minute?" he said before withdrawing.

The three men left in the room looked at her quizzically. She shrugged her shoulders and gave them a look that said _who knows?_ She closed the office door behind her when she stepped inside.

"Have a seat." The captain said. She sat down. "How are you doing detective?" he continued.

"Good sir, how are you?" she asked even though she could tell from the way he was sitting that he hadn't called her in here just to see how things were going.

"I'm good." He paused. "I have a question for you detective."

"Go ahead." She felt herself tense up a bit.

"Have you heard any rumors floating around the precinct about me retiring?"

She stared for a second. She had heard whispers in the locker room but hadn't thought anything of them. There was no way the captain could retire. "Yes sir, but I didn't believe them."

"Well, maybe you should start."

"Sir?"

"At the end of this year I will be retiring."

Kate couldn't help but let her jaw drop. "Why?"

He sighed. "I love my job, I really do, but I've been doing it for far too long."

Beckett simply nodded. "I understand sir, but if I could ask a question now?"

"Of course"

"Why tell me? Why not tell everyone at once?"

"Because I'd like to find my replacement before I make the announcement."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me sir."

He smiled. "You know for a detective you're not doing a very good job of putting the pieces together." He raised an eyebrow and continued smiling.

She stared for another second before it sunk in. "Me? No sir, with all due respect I can't. I-"

"Stop."

She stopped and pursed her lips. As much as she liked and respected Roy Montgomery she hated being cut off. She kept quiet while he continued. "Katherine Beckett you are the finest detective I've seen come through this precinct in the 30 years I've been here, even before I was captain. You and your partners have the highest case closure rate in the past 10 years, and I can honestly say that everyone in this building respects you." She opened her mouth to disagree but he kept talking. "I'm not done yet detective. You know this city like the back of your hand and you're smart. You can keep your head and I have no doubt that you'll be excellent at training new recruits. I could find someone who can do this job decently enough, but there's nobody I would trust more to keep this precinct where it needs to be."

Kate sat silently for a minute. "I don't know what to sat sir."

"Say you'll think about it. We have the whole year ahead of us. I don't need an answer right away."

Kate stood up. "I'll think about it sir. And thank you for the offer, but I can't do this. You may think I'm ready but I don't." she turned to go.

"Kate, I'm going to do whatever I can to get you into this position."

She turned back to him and nodded with her lips pursed.

"You can talk to Ryan and Esposito about this but I want it kept on the down low until a decision is made. Am I clear?"

"Not a problem sir." She opened the door and headed for the coffee machine. The second she was out of the office Ryan and Esposito could tell something was wrong.

"Everything ok?" Ryan asked.

She motioned for them to follow her into the break room and closed the door behind them. She looked at her two partners. "Where's Castle?"

Esposito spoke up. "He lost a bet with Alexis and had to take her and a friend shopping. So what did the captain want?"

She took a deep breath. "He's retiring." She watched as her two partners exchanged glances and then looked back at her. She took another breath and braced herself. "And he's offered me the position of captain."

"Wow detective, that's great." Ryan said.

"I didn't accept the offer." Kate said, pouring a cup of the coffee. "I told him I didn't want it."

"You do realize that captain is a promotion right?" Ryan asked.

"Captain Beckett has a nice ring to it." Esposito pointed out.

"Listen guys, you cant tell anyone about this yet. The captain wants to keep it quiet until a decision is made."

Her partners nodded and the three of them went back to their paperwork. Beckett found a message from Castle on the phone she had left on her desk. It read _Bought a remote control spycopter. Just in case we need any recon. on our next case. _She smiled and tried to concentrate on the papers in front of her.

An hour later she had barely gotten anything done, too preoccupied with thoughts of being known as Captain Beckett. She looked down at her watch. It was still early but she knew she wasn't going to get anymore work done.

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to head out early." She said to Ryan and Esposito

Esposito noticed something in her tone. "You ok Beckett?"

"Yeah, just got a lot on my mind." She said putting away the file of papers and putting on her coat. She left the building and climbed into a waiting taxi, but at the last minute decided not to go home.

There was a liquor store a few buildings down from Castle's apartment and that's where she had the cab drop her off.

Detective Kate Beckett was not a party girl. She had been a little wild in college but that time was long gone. She did, however, still harbor a secret fondness for vodka. She usually drank it in the form of the one martini she let herself have a week. She walked up to the isle with the vodka and grabbed a medium sized bottle of the cheap stuff. At this point she wasn't picky.

After paying and leaving the store she walked the few minutes to Castle's building. While she was in the elevator she opened the bottle and took a sip, wincing a little as she swallowed. The last time she remembered drinking alcohol straight was the night she shot Dick Coonan almost a year ago. It had hurt like hell the next morning but had helped her deal with it. She took another sip and felt the warmth spread as the liquid hit her stomach.

She got off the elevator and stood in front of Castle's door for a minute before taking one more sip and knocking.

**Let me know what you think? Reviews are always appreciated **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Just so you all know, the events in this chapter, and the whole story, take place before the episode 'Knockdown'. Enjoy chapter 2 :)

To her surprise it was Martha that answered the door and not Castle. "Why hello detective. How nice to see you."

"Hey, Martha, nice to see you too."

The older woman stood aside and motioned for Kate to come inside. "I'd offer you a drink but it seems you already have one." She said with a smile.

Kate blushed and attempted to stammer a reply but Martha stopped her. "Don't worry dear, sometimes a good stiff drink is exactly what the doctor calls for. Just because you're one of the city's finest doesn't mean you can't let loose once in a while."

"Uh, thanks. Is, um, is Castle around?"

"They are on their way home, should be here in five or ten minutes. You're welcome to wait."

"Would you mind?"

"No, no not at all, make yourself at home. I don't mind you waiting as long as you don't mind listening to me rehearse in the other room."

"Of course not." Kate said with a smile.

"Well in that case I'll just be in the other room." Martha said smiling and heading to a room down the hall.

Kate set the bottle down on the living room table and went to get a glass from the kitchen. After sitting back down and pouring some of the liquid into the glass she leaned back and reveled in the cushions far more luxurious than the ones on her couch at home. She closed her eyes and inhaled, smelling the scent of the man she had worked next to for a year and a half.

She took a sip from the glass and relished the feeling of being able to 'loosen up a bit' as Martha has said. All of a sudden she realized she was laying down on Richard Castle's couch, smelling him. She sat up quickly, spilling a few drops on her hand. She was licking them off when she heard the door open. Beckett kept quite as she watched Castle, Alexis and one of Alexis' friends come inside, each carrying a least one large bag. Alexis and the girl ran upstairs without noticing her but as Rick was hanging up his coat she spoke up. "So where's this spycopter you told me about?"

Castle turned around with a surprised look on his face. "Beckett, I wasn't expecting to see you here." He paused as he noticed what she was drinking and how much was already gone. "Is everything ok?"

Kate realized she didn't know if she was ready to talk about the captain's offer. She took a deep breath and drained the contents of her glass, feeling her face being to flush.

Castle immediately sat next to her and gave her a concerned look. "I assume this has to do with Captain Montgomery calling you into his office?"

She didn't say anything but nodded and refilled her glass. "You can have some if you want." She said, staring at the contents of the bottle.

"No, thanks." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Kate, what's going on?"

She looked him in the eyes and said "Captain Montgomery is retiring."

"He's doing what?"

"That's not the bad part. I mean, it's bad but not why…" she paused and sipped from her glass before looking back at Castle. "He wants me to take his place." She looked down.

Rick reached over and took the glass from her hands, setting it on the table. "So let me get this straight." She looked back up at him. "You're sitting on my couch, obviously upset and drinking vodka because you got offered a major promotion?"

She groaned as she was reminded of her situation and reached for the glass again. "That pretty much sums it up."

"Is there more to this than you're telling me? Because I don't understand."

She leaned back against the couch and closed her eyes. She was quite for so long Rick wondered if she had fallen asleep. "Kate?" he said quietly.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I'm not ready to be captain. I want it, just not yet."

"Did you tell Montgomery that?" she nodded and took a small sip of the vodka. He hoped she was slowing down. Her speech was starting to slur noticeably.

"I told him I wasn't ready and he said he was going to do everything he could to get me to take the job because I'm the only one he would trust to run the precinct." She was starting to gesture and Castle reached out to take her drink so she didn't spill it. "What are you doing?"

He pointed at the glass in her hand. "I don't want you to spill any."

She put the glass to her lips and threw her head back, draining its contents. "There, now I won't spill."

He nodded. "So why aren't you ready for the captain job?"

She turned towards him and took a deep breath. "I'm not ready to be behind a desk."

He noticed she was leaning closer as she kept talking.

"I like being in the field too much. And one thing I've learned from you is how to enjoy unraveling the story of every crime."

He tried to back up but was at the edge of the couch.

She kept going. He noticed something in her eyes. Fear, maybe, or pain. "But most of all I don't want to be stuck in an office when we find out who hired Coonan to kill my mom. I want to be the one putting that bastard behind bars."

By this time her face was only a few inches from his. "You'll catch him, I promise." Rick said.

Beckett nodded and leaned back again.

Rick stood up. "I think I should take you home now."

She looked up and nodded. He could still see that something in her eyes and she stood up, wobbling as she made her way to the door. He grabbed her keys and followed close behind her. When they were in the elevator she leaned into him a bit and he put a steadying arm around her waist. Even when the door opened she let him help her to the car, giggling a bit as she lost her footing once.

Once they got to her apartment Kate opened the door and turned around. Holding onto the door frame she said "Thanks, Castle. I'm going to go to sleep now.

She tried to close the door but he stopped her. "Oh no, I'm coming in to make sure you're ok."

She narrowed her eyes and was about to argue but didn't have the energy to stay standing up. She stepped aside and sat down on the couch. Before Castle could sit down she put her feet up and lay down. He looked down at her grinning and she smiled back.

"Comfy?" he asked. She nodded. "Anything I can get for you?"

She pointed to the hall behind her "blanket please."

"From your room?"

She nodded again.

He walked down the hall and found her door open partway. He stood in the doorway looking in. he had seen Beckett's apartment before but never her room. He felt oddly intrusive. He grabbed the quilt and closed the door behind him on the way out. Kate was almost asleep already when he came back. He draped the blanket over her and smiled as she pulled it close around her

He turned to go but felt her grab his hand before he could get away. "Thanks again Castle. I'll be ok, you can go."

He nodded "I know you'll be ok. Sleep well."

The last thing Kate remembered was letting go of his hand and closing her eyes.

**Reviews please?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

I threw a case into this story to add some substance to it, but the murder is going to take a back seat for the most part. This is a fluff story :p

Kate Beckett opened her eyes and groaned. Why was everything so bring? Oh yeah, she was on the couch. She quickly closed her eyes again and worked on recalling the previous night. Being offered captain, the vodka, going to Castle's. It seemed like she remembered everything. Wait, Castle brought her home. He wasn't still here was he?  
She opened her eyes, slowly this time. All she saw was a glass of water and a bottle of Aspirin on the table in front of her, along with a note.

When she sat up she completely forgot to be mad at Castle for going through her medicine drawer and instead popped two of the pills into her mouth and drank the entire glass of water.

After sitting there for another 15 minutes while the painkillers worked their magic, she picked up the note.

"_Good morning detective. Your coffee pot is all set to go. All you have to do is press start. Also there will be a surprise at your door at 7:30. –Castle"_

As she walked to the kitchen she wondered what kind of surprise it was going to be. She looked at her watch. 7:23. At least she didn't have to wait long.

She pressed the button on her coffee maker and was waiting for it to finish when there was a knock on the door. When she opened it there was a delivery boy from her favorite breakfast place down the street.

"Kate Beckett?" he asked.

She nodded with a dumbfounded look on her face. She knew for a fact that place didn't deliver.

"Then this is for you." The boy said, handing her a bag that felt faintly warm and smelled good. "And it's all been taken care of. You have a great day."

"Thanks, you too." Kate said as he turned around and walked back down the hall.

She set the bag on the kitchen table and peered into it. On top was a white carnation with another note tied to it.

"_Yes I know they don't deliver but the owner owed me a favor. Surprise! Enjoy and I'll see you at work. –Castle"_

She set the note down and pulled the Styrofoam container out of the bag. She inhaled, it smells so good. Inside were scrambled eggs, bacon and a warm cinnamon bun. She took a bite of the bun before grabbing her coffee and a fork.

Half an hour later the detective was on her way to the precinct when her phone rang. It was Esposito. "Hey Esposito." She answered. "Yeah. Ok I'm on my way." She changed her course to take her to the crime scene. Ten minutes later she arrived at an alleyway between two apartment buildings. Two police cars and the medical examiners van were already there.

She got out of the car and saw Ryan, Esposito and Castle standing a little way off talking to one of the other officers. She met them halfway. "What have we got?" she asked.

"The guy over there," Ryan pointed, "was on his way home from the store, he lives in the building on the right. He was walking by the alley when he heard a scream. He went to see what it was and found a body in the dumpster."

"Lanie is getting the body into the van now. She said she won't be able to tell us much until she gets him back to the lab." Esposito said, handing the vic's wallet to Beckett.

She read the info. out loud. "Jesse Renolds, 31 years old, lived a couple of streets over. Business card says he's an insurance agent. Money and credit cards are still in here, could it have been a suicide?"

"It's possible" Ryan said.

"But not likely" Esposito added.

Castle chimed in "normally you don't scream so much if you jump on purpose."

Kate nodded. "ok, Ryan you go contact the family, see if you can get them to come it. Esposito, start talking to the neighbors on the top couple of floors of that building. Castle and I will go talk to the witness then meet you back at the precinct."

Ryan and Esposito split up while Castle and Beckett headed for the frazzled looking man standing by one of the squad cars. Kate walked up to him and showed him her badge. "I'm detective Kate Beckett, this is R-"

"Richard Castle?" the man said, his eyes getting bigger. "Dude, 'm a huge fan."

"Thanks." Rick said. "I appreciate it, but she gets grumpy when people don't focus."

"Right, of course" the guy said, sticking out his hand. "Dave Shepard, apartment 2B."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Shepard. Can you tell me what happened?"

He nodded "Well, I went to the store and I was coming back a little after seven I think. I was about to walk by the alley when I heard a guy scream and then a thud noise."

"A thud?" Castle asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kate glared at him then looked back at Dave. "Anything else?"

"Um, after I heard the noise I put my bag down and went to see what it was. Guess that's what I get for being curious."

"Yeah, well if it wasn't for you he might not have been found yet. So thank you. And if you think of anything else just give me a call."

Dave nodded while Castle and Beckett headed for her car. Once they were on their way to the precinct she glanced over at him for a second. "Castle?"

He looked at her "hmm?"

"Thanks, for last night, and this morning."

"Oh, don't mention it."

"And I would appreciate it if you didn't mention what happened to anyone."

"Why? What happened last night?" he said, giving her one of his trademark lopsided grins.

She glanced over and saw him grinning and couldn't help but smile herself

When they pulled up to the building Rick tried to get out of the car but Kate stopped him. "Wait. I don't do this very often, but I owe you one for last night, really."

Castle kept her eye contact for a few seconds in silence before saying anything. "Maybe I'll take you up on that, but right now you have a bad guy to catch."

Hmmm, what should Castle make Beckett do for him? She does owe him after all...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**What does Castle want for his IOU? Hmmmmm **

After a long day of chasing down leads and suspects with little success, Kate entered her apartment, dropped her purse on the couch and put her handheld in a drawer in the living room. The first thing she did after that was take a shower.

Peeling off clothes that were caked with sweat and city grime she stepped under the steaming water. She closed her eyes and stood there for a minute letting it wash away the remnants of her hangover.

After getting all clean and relaxed she stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself. She was drying off her hair when her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID she was that it was Castle. "didn't we agree that you're only allowed to bug me at work?"

"Careful detective, you owe me one remember?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I do. So what's it going to be?"

"I'm going to take you to dinner tomorrow night."

She almost dropped the phone "excuse me, what?"

"there is this little place, just a hole in the wall. A little grungy but they make the best burger you'll ever eat."

"Castle, I am not going on a date with you."

"See, now you're putting words in my mouth. It doesn't have to be a date. Just one friend buying the other a meal. Nothing funny, I promise."

Beckett quickly weighed the pros and cons of arguing and settled on it wasn't worth it. "What time?"

"I'll pick you up at 6:30"

He sounded so excited that she couldn't help but wonder where they were going. "Alright. See you then."

She hung up and slipped into a par of worn sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. She stared at her phone for a minute before dialing a number she knew well.

"Hey girl, what's going on?"

"Hey Lanie" Kate said. "Are you busy? I could use some help."

"What's up? Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I just need a little girl time."

"Give me half an hour and I'll be over."

"Thanks Lanie" Kate settled down on the couch and flipped on the TV. The only things playing on her basic cable were the news and some documentary about bugs. She picked the news. While she waited for Lanie she should back to that morning.

_The breakfast Castle has sent had been amazing. She couldn't remember the last time she had treated herself to anything but the occasional pastry with her morning coffee. Then there was the conversation she had had with Ryan and Esposito. _

_She had only been at her desk for a minute when she felt someone staring and looked up to see her two partners standing next to her. "Can I help you?"_

"_We just want you to know that whatever happens with this offer" Ryan started._

"_We're behind you a hundred percent." Esposito finished. _

"_I haven't made a decision yet."_

"_Well, we're with you no matter what" Ryan said._

"_You know you'd be great at it." Esposito said with a smile._

_Kate blushed "Thanks guys, I appreciate it. And you will be among the first to know what happens."_

_Then the captain had called her into his office, again. "I want you to take tomorrow off detective."_

"_Sir, I'm fine, I don't need-"_

"_You haven't had a day off in almost a year."_

"_We're in the middle of a case."_

"_Detective Beckett, you haven't taken a day off in almost a year. And even then it was because you house had gotten blown up. Now I put a lot on your plate the other day and I don't want you making a decision when you're overworked or overtired."_

"_I understand sir but-"_

"_Ryan and Esposito are perfectly capable of handling this case. One day, that's all I'm asking."_

"_Yes sir."_

"_Thank you detective."_

A knock on the door brought her back to reality.

"Hey sweetie" Lanie said when Kate opened the door.

"Hey Lanie, thanks for coming." Beckett offered her friend a drink before they sat down on the couch.

"So what's going on that you need some girl time? It doesn't happen very often you know."

"I know" Kate said, pulling her legs in and resting her chin on her knees. "I may have gotten myself into a situation with Castle"

Lanie raised an eyebrow. "A situation? This is going to be good."

The detective shot her friend a silencing look before beginning to explain herself. She started with Captain Montgomery's offer, to which her friends' eyes got huge. She then told the ME about the vodka and showing up at Castle's door.

"That man not only didn't mind that you got drunk at his house but he brought you home and got you breakfast? Honey this one's a keeper."

"That's not exactly the situation" Beckett said wincing.

"You mean this story gets better? Go on." Lanie said with a big grin.

Kate roller her eyes. "Well when I thanked him for everything I told him that I owed him one. And he just called to say that he was going to take the IOU in the form of me going to dinner with him tomorrow night."

"Girl it's about time the two of you went on a date."

"It's not a date Lanie. Just dinner."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that."

Kate hit her with a pillow.

Lanie laughed but her tone was serious. "Katie you gotta stop lying to yourself."

"Don't call me Katie."

"Girl, I'm serious. Either you need to stop lying to yourself or you need a pair of glasses." Kate looked up at her friend with a blank expression

Lanie continued "everyone in the precinct knows how writer boy feels about you. I've seen the way he acts around you and looks at you."

Kate stayed silent for a minute then nodded. "I've noticed." She rested her head back on her knees.

"I've also seen the way you look back at him."

Beckett focused on a spot on the wall and could feel herself blushing. She looked at her friend and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"He's different Kate. And you've already let him inside your head more than you've let anyone in in a long time."

"All of his marriages have failed. What if-"

"Did I ask you to marry him?"

Kate opened her mouth to say something but though better of it "no."

"Do you trust him?"

Kate nodded

"Do you like him?"

Kate hesitated and bit her lip before nodding again

"So give the poor guy a chance. In case you haven't noticed he doesn't hang around just for the story anymore."

"I know."

"Good. Montgomery gave you the day off tomorrow for a reason. You need to relax. That means sleep in, make yourself a big breakfast, don't call the precinct to check up on us and take a long bath with candles, and pretty music."

"Thanks Lanie, I will."

"Yeah, well I'll believe it when I see it." The both laughed and Lanie got up and headed for the door.

"Thanks again Lanie. I really needed this."

"Don't mention it, I'm glad I got to talk some sense into you."

They hugged goodbye and Beckett decided it was time for bed. She snuggled deep into her plush comforter and turned out the light. She reached out to set the alarm on her phone like she always did, but this time she stopped herself. She was going to sleep in like Lanie had suggested.

She drifted off to sleep wondering what tomorrow would bring.

**Ok, so next chapter will be her day off and the dinner with Castle. **

**Reviews please? :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

First: I can not claim ownership of Castle, the show or any of the charatcers.

Second: I did not think up the idea of the restaurant myself, or rather the way they choose the toppings for the burgers. In season 1 of the TV show Man Vs. Food he goes to a place in Denver, CO where they pick toppings like that. The place is called Duffy's Cherry Cricket for those who are interested

Third: **Kie Santiago I got this chapter up fast especially for you :p**

Beckett woke up to see sunlight streaming in through the window. She opened her eyes slowly and stretched before looking at the clock. It was almost 10:00 and she couldn't remember the last time she had slept in that late. She lay there for another few minutes basking in the sunlight and the fact that she didn't have anything to do until later that night.

She rolled out of bed and went to the kitchen. After putting on a pot of coffee she looked around her. Ok, maybe she did have something to do this afternoon.

Kate couldn't remember the last time she had thoroughly cleaned her house. After taking her time drinking her coffee she set to work on the dishes. When those were done she opened the fridge and pulled out all of the old leftovers and half empty take-out containers. Sniffing at a couple of them she was surprised she had left them in there that long.

Moving on to the living room she picked up the few empty coffee mugs and food containers. Pulling the vacuum out of the hall closet she proceeded to vacuum the carpets.

After all this was done she flopped down on the couch and looked at her phone. She had a text from Castle _change of plans. I'll be picking you up around 4 instead._

She sent a message back _I don't have to get dressed up do I?_

Momentarily she received a reply _wear whatever you are comfortable in. And warm in, we will be outside for a while._

She contemplated this while she dialed Esposito's cell phone.

"No, you do not get to call and check up on us."

"What? No hello?" she said with a smile.

"I'm under strict orders not to tell you anything."

"Orders from who?"

"The captain and Lanie."

"Damn."

"Sorry detective."

"It's ok, get back to work."

Kate wore away the rest of the afternoon watching movies on TV and snacking on the few things left in her fridge. Before she knew it 3 o'clock rolled around and she had to start getting ready.

She decided to follow another of Lanie's suggestions and take a bath, though she skipped the candles and music. She let the tub fill up with steaming water and slipped in slowly up to her neck. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes she took a few relaxing breaths.

She had dreamt, the previous night, about Castle, but it had been on the verge of a nightmare_. They chased a suspect into an alley and before she could blink he had turned and fired a single shot. She was sure he had been aiming for her but a cry from behind her told her she was wrong. She allowed herself a fraction of a second to look at Castle's body lying on the ground, twisting in agony. Then she raised her gun and returned the gesture. The suspect fell to the ground and she dropped to her knees beside Castle, tears stinging her eyes. It was as he breathed her name that she woke up_

She took a deep breath and dunked her head underwater. Holding her breath she made a decision. She had to tell him how she felt. What if she lost him before she got another chance? Her lungs were burning but she stayed submerged. Tonight. She would tell him tonight. She sat up gasping and reached for a towel.

Half an hour later she was suddenly nervous when she heard a knock on the door. She opened it anyway and Rick was standing there smiling. "Hey" was all she could manage to get out.

"Hey, ready to go?"

She grabbed her keys and wallet and they were off. A few minutes later they found a parking stop by central park and Castle pulled a bag out of the back seat before leading the way into the park. Not far down the path they came upon a small stage set up with speakers and lighting and dozens of people sitting in front of it on blankets. She looked up at Castle "We're seeing a play?"

He nodded as he pulled a faded quilt out of the bag and spread it out. "I know the guy that does the lighting and I remembered you saying that you liked theatre in college."

She smiled at the fact that he remembered things like that. "What play?" she asked and he could hear excitement in her voice. He handed her a pamphlet. The play was 'Waiting for Godot'. _Of course_ she thought. _What is this, some sort of sign?_

As the play started she leaned closer to Rick and whispered "What's in the bag?"

He pulled out a thermos of hot coffee and a bag of popcorn. She was grateful for the warm liquid as he handed her a cup. It was late March and things were starting to warm up but the sun was setting and there was a breeze.

During the intermission she grabbed the popcorn from Castle, who had been hogging it. She decided now was as good a time as any to speak up "This is really nice Castle. Thanks."

He shot her one of his dazzling smiles "I'm glad you like it detective. Dinner will be even better I promise."

She smiled and shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth. They still had five minutes until the play started up again ad Kate glanced over at Rick and saw he was looking at her. "What?"

"Are you cold?"

"Um….a little why?"

"Your nose and your cheeks are getting all red. It's kind of cute."

She decided to get playful and not take it seriously "You offering to warm me up?" she raised an eyebrow and grinned as his jaw dropped.

"I…um…" he stammered

"Relax Castle, I was joking, sort of." She said as she poured herself a little bit more of the coffee. The play started again and he was still shocked by her comment. She grinned as she noticed him stealing glances at her out of the corner of her eye. She shivered…maybe she was colder than she had realized. She took a deep breath and scooter closer to Castle, leaning into him a little bit. He looked down at her, surprised by the action and hesitantly put an arm around her. She looked up at him and smiled and he noticed something in her eyes that told him she was comfortable where she was. He smiled back and then they both turned their attention to the rest of the play.

The play ended and Castle reluctantly took him arm away from the brunette that had nestled herself next to him and stood up. Kate stood up as well and helped him fold up the blanket. They got back in the car and Rick turned up the heat as they headed to dinner. "So did you like the play?"

"Yeah, I read it a long time ago. It's a good one. Where are we going?" She didn't recognize the part of town they were in.

"You'll see when we get there" he said in typical Castle fashion. They pulled up outside a building that barely even looked like a restaurant. Castle lead the way up to the door and held it for Beckett. She blushed as she stepped past him and into the room. She looked around her in awe at the place that was nothing like the outside of the building.

Castle stood aside and watched with a grin as she took everything in. One wall was taken up by a bar, above which hung old fashioned signs for various brands of booze. The rest of the small establishment was taken up by tables, but it was the walls that drew her attention. It was like a mini Hard Rock café. Memorabilia from various musical groups, old movie posters and multiple sports jerseys covered almost every inch of space. She noted autographs from the members of Perl Jam, and Aerosmith, tacked up next to signed headshots of Johnny Depp, Madonna and Sylvester Stallone. There seemed to be no reason or order to anything.

She looked back at Castle in amazement. "This is unreal. How did they get all this stuff?"

He shrugged and led her to a table in the back. "Just collected it over the years I guess."

They sat down and a waitress came up and asked them what they wanted to drink. Castle said he would have a beer and Kate asked for the same. "So are you ready for the best way to order a burger ever?" Castle asked with a grin. Kate raised an eyebrow in question and Castle stood up. "Follow me."

Kate got up and followed Castle to the opposite corner of the restaurant where there seemed to be a giant target painted on the wall. They got closer and she realized that's exactly what it was. Only there were words written all over the target. "What is it?" she asked.

A waitress handed Castle a handful of darts and he threw one of them at the wall. "You throw darts to pick what toppings are on your burger." He said with a huge grin as he handed Kate three of the darts. She looked at what his first one had landed on. Bacon. Other toppings on the target included guacamole, salsa, cheese, onions, a fried egg, chili, peppers and various dressings. She decided what the hell and threw a dart. It landed on onions. She laughed

"There you go" Castle said throwing his last 2 darts. He ended up with bacon, peppers and cheese on his burger. "Finish yours" he said stepping back.

She closed her eyes and threw the last two at the same time. She ended up with onions, a fried egg and a pepper jack cheese sauce. "Castle this is ridiculous" she said laughing.

"I know but isn't it awesome?" he said as they went back to their seat after placing the order.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Kate looking around at everything on the walls and Rick looking at Kate. She noticed but didn't say anything. After a while she turned back to him. "I have to tell you something" she said, taking a sip of her beer.

"Go for it." He said meeting her eyes and holding them for longer than normal.

She looked down and gathered her courage before continuing. "I'm really glad you've stayed with us at the precinct. You've been a big help."

He decided to be just as bold as she was being "is that the only reason you're glad I stayed?"

She opened her mouth and closed it again. Not sure exactly what to say. She took a deep breath and jumped off the metaphorical cliff "No." she looked up to measure his reaction. He was just staring at her, waiting for her to continue. So she did. "It hasn't always been easy working with you, but I've enjoyed it. You bring a little bit of relief to the job. And you've helped me out personally as well. When I'm around you" she paused, trying to figure out the right way of saying everything she wanted, needed, to say. "When I'm around you everything is a little bit better. You know me better than anyone, and as Lanie pointed out to me, you've managed to get past a lot of the walls I've build up around myself, and I've decided to take down the rest of them for you." She looked up at him again to see him grinning.

He took another sip of his beer before responding. "I am honored detective, really. I never meant to break down any walls but I've always had a thing for you, and somewhere along the line I figured 'hey, I've got time'"

She smiled. "So that means you're sticking around for a while?"

He laughed "As long as you want me here."

Kate blushed "well as long as we are being honest…I've kind of had a thing for you too, and I want you around."

Just then their orders arrived. Both of the burgers were bigger than any Kate had seen before. "Oh my gosh Castle, I'm never going to be able to eat all of this" she said, trying to figure out how to take a bite without getting it all over herself.

"Bet you $10 it's so good you finish the whole thing no matter how full you are" Castle said with a full mouth.

Kate laughed "you're on Castle."

They spent the next hour sitting at the table eating and talking about anything and everything. They had seen each other outside of work before, the two of them along with Ryan, Esposito and Montgomery sometimes visited The Old Haunt for a drink, but she had never spent this much time with the writer. She was surprised to find herself laughing and talking freely as if this happened all the time. And they had so much to talk about that work was never brought up.

When she looked at her watch she was amazed that the time had passed so quickly. "Castle, as much as I'm actually enjoying myself I should get home soon. I do have work in the morning."

They had finished eating long ago and Castle had no problem with taking her home. He pulled a few bills out of his wallet and left them on the table as they got up and got back into the car.

They pulled up outside of Kate's apartment and Rick turned the car off. "Can I walk you up?"

She was about to protest but remembered her talk with Lanie and changed her mind. "Sure."

The air outside seemed freezing compared to the heat of the car, but the lobby of the building was warm and so was the elevator. "You know, I had a really good time tonight Castle. Thank you, for everything" Kate said as the doors opened and they go off on her floor.

Standing outside her door Castle asked "does that mean I get to take you out again sometime?"

Beckett stood with her back leaning against her door and studied the man before her for a second. "I guess that would be alright."

Castle took a step closer towards the woman before him. "In that case can I ask one more thing for my IOU?"

Kate was surprised but, as she realized, not uncomfortable with his sudden proximity. All she could do was nod.

"Don't move," Castle grinned, "and don't shoot me." He took another step that brought them so close their chests were almost touching, their faces only inches from each other. Kate's breath caught in her throat as he slowly leaned in, gauging her reaction. She could feel his warm breath on her lips as he got even closer and…his phone rang.

He pulled back a little bit and they both closed their eyes in frustration. Kate let out her breath and tried to steady her heartbeat as he answered the phone. A minute later she opened her eyes to see him staring at her.

"I'm sorry" he said. "I shouldn't have-"

She cut him off. "It's ok" she said, still a little breathless.

"But, I have to go…that was Alexis"

"No worries, will I see you tomorrow?"

He smiled at how hopeful she sounded. "Of course"

"Well, goodnight then, and thanks again for everything."

He nodded "until tomorrow detective."

He turned and headed back for the elevator as she unlocked her door and let herself in. They were both thinking, hoping, that maybe, just maybe, the person they had both been waiting for had finally shown up.

**TaDa!**

**Reviews please? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Beckett's first day back at the precinct. Will they close they case? And will Ryan and Esposito find out about dinner?**

Beckett was usually the first one to the precinct in the mornings, so it surprised her when she walked in and found a cup of coffee sitting on her desk. She looked around but didn't see anyone. She then noticed Captain Montgomery's door closed but saw him in there with Castle and figured the coffee was safe to drink. She was idly wondering what Castle and the captain were talking about when Ryan and Esposito walked in.

"Welcome back detective" Esposito said sitting down.

"Thanks, so what happened yesterday?"

Ryan picked a file off his desk and handed it to Beckett. "CSU swept top floors of both buildings and found out that he fell from the one on the left. And as it turns out the vic had a girlfriend named Dianne that lived in that building."

"Did you bring her in?"

"I'm hurt you would even ask that detective." Esposito chimed in. "We brought her in and she had an alibi but it seemed shaky. We are still trying to run it down."

"Good, any other suspects?"

"Not as of right now" Ryan said. "He didn't have any enemies at work, didn't owe anyone money, wasn't into anything illegal."

Beckett finished skimming the file. "The girlfriend was arrested once before for petty theft, served a few months, but nothing major. What was her alibi?"

"Said she was at her mother's house upstate babysitting her little brother from the night before until later in the afternoon." Ryan said.

Esposito chimed in "but we are working on getting security footage from the buildings and talking to the mother. Should know in a couple of hours."

Beckett nodded "good job guys. Let me know when you find out. I'm going to talk to Lanie."

She was walking past Montgomery's door as Castle was walking out. She shot him a smile but kept walking. When she made it down to where the Medical Examiner spent most of her days she opened the door without knocking. "Lanie?" she called out when she didn't see her friend.

"In the back!" came the reply from one of the back rooms. Kate followed the voice and found Lanie sitting at a desk doing some of her own paperwork. Lanie looked up and put down her pen "you had better be here to tell me how your night went."

Kate sat down and started telling her about the evening with Castle. Once she started talking she couldn't stop. Yes, Kate Beckett was gushing. She even told Lanie about leaning up against Castle during the play.

"You cuddled with him?" Lanie said skeptically.

"Shut up, it was not cuddling" Kate said laughing and continuing on with her story. She told Lanie about the amazing things on the walls at the restaurant and how you throw darts to pick what goes on your burger. Then she got serious as she told Lanie what had been said over dinner. "I don't know where things will go from here, but at least things are…out in the open."

"And how does it feel?"

"Honestly? It feels really good."

"Girl, I told you so. But listen, I have to finish this paperwork. Talk later ok?"

"Sure thing." Beckett headed back up to her desk to find Esposito on the phone. He hung up and she looked at him expectantly.

"That was the mother. She said Dianne was babysitting that night. She got there around 5pm, but left early the next morning, around 6am. That gives her plenty of time to get back to her apartment before 7."

"But what would the boyfriend be doing at her house that early in the morning?" Castle piped up.

Ryan walked into the room with the security tapes. "Guess we can find out."

They spent the next hour and a half scanning all of the tapes from the night before and the morning of the murder. Finally Kate found something. "Look at this guys. It shows Jesse arriving at the building at 4pm the night before he was murdered." She fast forwarded the tape "then Dianne leaves at 4:33, which means she went straight to her moms."

"Does the vic ever leave?" Ryan asks.

Kate fast forwarded and shook her head "No, he doesn't. That's what's strange. Lanie says the fall is what killed him so we know he was alive overnight but we never see him leave." She fast forwarded the tape again. "And here is Dianne, coming back home at 6:27am the next morning."

"Looks like she lied to us about babysitting." Esposito said.

Castles face lit up "road trip?"

The four partners along with two other squad cars pulled up in front of Dianne's building. The officers from the squad cars went to cover other exits in case she tried to run. "Any chance I can get you to stay here Castle?" Beckett asked.

"Not if it's up to me" he said with a childish grin.

She rolled her eyes "ok but stay behind us please."

He nodded and the four of them headed off. Ryan and Esposito took the stairs while Beckett and Castle took the elevator up to Dianne's floor. They reached the floor all at about the same time, as the elevator made a couple of stops along the way. They walked up to the door and saw it ajar. Kate turned to Castle. "The 10 bucks I lost at dinner last night says you can't wait for me out here" she said with a grin, hoping that if giving him orders didn't work maybe a bet would.

He seemed about ready to argue but simply nodded with an amused gleam in his eyes. Kate motioned to her other partners to follow her lead. She took her gun from its resting place and pushed the door open, raising it to scan the room. "Dianne?" she called out.

Nobody was in the front couple of rooms but they heard muttering and rummaging from a back room and they headed towards the noise. Ryan and Esposito took up a position on either side of the bedroom door and Kate gave them the signal. They both turned into the room at the same time yelling "NYPD put your hands where we can see them!"

Dianne let out a scream and tried to run past them, but was blocked by Kate appearing in the doorway with her gun raised. She screamed again and threw her hands up. "I'm not doing anything wrong, just-"

Beckett cut her off "Not doing anything wrong? Dianne you lied to us about your alibi. Want to explain that?"

"Ok, ok I left early but I didn't kill him I swear!" she had tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I've heard that one before. You can tell me again when we get downtown" she said and she stepped behind the now crying girl and began to put the cuffs on her.

"You have the right to remain silent" Detective Esposito started repeating. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you." He continued as they led her down to one of the waiting squad cars.

Once the four of them were back outside and the girl was on her way to the precinct Esposito turned to Beckett. "Dinner last night?"

"Aww you and Castle went on a date?" Ryan chuckled.

She narrowed her eyes and glared at the two of them. She glanced back at Castle before speaking. "It was dinner, that's all. There's nothing going on."

"Yeah, I'm sure" Esposito said, getting in to his car with Ryan.

The rest of the day went fairly easy. Once Kate got the girlfriend into the interrogation room it was a matter of 15 minutes before she confessed to the murder. "But why did she do it?" Castle asked when the detective came out of the room.

"Our victim had a rich uncle who died a few months back. He inherited everything, a nice house, a couple of cars, and almost a million dollars. Meanwhile she was barely making rent. He helped out sometimes, but she found out he was going to leave her."

"Yeah, "he said, leaning back in his chair. "Money like that will piss off a lot of people."

Kate smiled "have you pissed off a lot of people?"

"Do you really need to ask me that question?"

"Good point"

Castle's phone rang again and he answered "Hey honey, what's up? Yeah, I'm heading out in a few minutes. Ok I'll pick it up on my way, see you in a bit." He hung up and turned back to Beckett. "That was Alexis. We're doing a movie night tonight, complete with take-out. Would you like to join us?"

"Little soon for another date isn't it Castle? Plus I don't want to impose on your family time…"

"AH HA! So you admit it was a date!"

Her eyes got wide and she began to stutter "I didn't, I mean, it-"

"Don't worry, it can be out little secret. Also it was Alexis' idea to invite you tonight, so you won't be imposing."

She chewed her lip for a second, contemplating. "What movie?"

He smiled at the fact he knew she was caving in. "I don't know, Alexis usually picks"

She thought back to the previous night. Thought about how much fun they had had at the play and over dinner, about how easy it was to spend time with him. Would it really be any different with his daughter there? She had been to his house before and knew Alexis well. "Ok but I'm driving."

**Ok please don't hate me for leaving it hanging a bit, but I have to keep you guys coming back for more don't I?**

**The more reviews I get the faster chapter 7 will be out :D**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Enjoy! :D**

Alexis Castle looked up from her place on the couch when she heard the door open. "Beckett! You came!" she said when she saw who was on the other side.

Kate couldn't help but appreciate the warm smile she always got from the girl and was glad she decided to come. "Yeah, well your dad can be very persuasive."

"Trust me, I know" she said and they both laughed.

Castle set the food they had picked up on the table in the living room and hung up his and Beckett's coat. Beckett sat down on the couch next to Alexis. "What movie are we watching?"

The redhead held up a DVD "The Godfather, part 1"

"I've taught you well grasshopper" Castle said, sitting down on the other side of the couch, sandwiching Beckett between himself and Alexis. He picked up the remote and hit play and they all dug into the heaps of food before them.

Once they were done eating Alexis paused the movie and got up to put everything in the kitchen. While she was in there Castle turned to the brunette beside him and smiled. "I'm really glad you decided to come. We all like having you around you know. Alexis looks up to you."

Kate blushed "Thanks Castle. She's a great girl. And I like being here, it's…" she paused, trying to think of the right word. "Comfortable. It's comfortable here."

Castle smiled at her and hesitantly put an arm around her. She stiffened up for a second, wondering what Alexis would think. He seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry, she knows we went to dinner. And she likes you."

Kate relaxed slightly and watched Alexis' face carefully when she came back and sat down. When she didn't see anything hinting at disapproval she relaxed even further, allowing herself to lean into the man next to her. She was amazed at how comfortable she felt there, and at how warm he was. She inhaled, and god he smelled good.

They spent the rest of the movie like that. Kate smiled inwardly at the interactions between Alexis and her father. Castle was always opening his mouth to comment on some point in the movie, or some flaw in the writing, and every time he did Alexis yelled at him to shut up and stop ruining the movie.

After the movie was over Alexis went up to her room, saying she had homework to do before she went to bed. Kate pulled her feet up into the couch and leaned her head against Castle's shoulder. She felt so much better now that she was being honest with herself, and with Castle. She looked up at him. "So what now?"

"Well, I was thinking that I want to make a chocolate milkshake. How does that sound?"

Kate couldn't remember the last time she had had a chocolate shake so she agreed. They went into the kitchen and she leaned up against one of the counters while Castle threw ice cream, chocolate syrup and a little bit of milk into the blender. They were both silent but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. They were both just content.

He poured the milkshake into two glasses and handed her one. He watched her as she took a sip. "This is really good."

"Thanks" he said. He continued to watch her as she took another sip.

She noticed him staring and looked at him, wide-eyed. "What?"

He was silent for a second before answering her. "I'm really glad we have been honest with each other the past couple of days. It's nice, to be able to let you know how I feel, and to see how you feel. But…" he paused. "I'm not sure…where it leaves us." He took a sip of his shake to hide the fact that he was nervous about her answer.

She took a deep breath. She knew he was leaving things completely up to her, and it was time for her to decide what she wanted. "Castle, I really like what the two of us have. I really like working with you and having you around and being able to spend time with you outside of work and not feel like anything is expected of me. I don't want to ruin that, because I wouldn't trade it for anything. " She set her shake down on the counter and took a step closer to him. She looked him in the eyes as she continued "but I really like you, and I would be stupid if I didn't give this a chance, give….us a chance." She stood there with her arms wrapped around herself, feeling slightly insecure about bearing her emotions so much. It had been a long time since she had put herself out there like this, and she was hoping it wouldn't blow up in her face.

He gestured for her to pick her milkshake back up. She did then looked at him expectantly. He lifted his glass and clinked it with hers "to us it is then." He said, taking a sip.

She smiled and did the same. "There have to be some ground rules though."

"I'm listening."

"First of all, nothing personal at work. This relationship stays out of the precinct."

He nodded.

"Second, you let me tell Lanie, Ryan and Esposito on my time."

He nodded again.

"And last, you need to tell Alexis, soon, and make sure it's ok with her. The last thing I want to do is come between the two of you. I know she likes me but if I'm going to be around here more often or in her life at all I want to make sure this is ok with her."

He smiled "you drive a hard bargain, but I think I can accept those terms."

"Good." She held up her glass and they clinked glasses again. "To us"

Castle wasn't at the precinct the next morning, he had a field trip with Alexis and her school. Kate figured that now was as good a time as ever to tell everyone what was going on. Ryan and Esposito were first on her list. She called them into the break room when they arrived at work. "Hey guys can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Everything ok detective?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, um. Do you guys remember how the other day I mention me and Castle going to dinner?"

They both nodded.

"Well, me and Castle are now….me and Castle."

"As in, a couple?" Ryan asked.

She took a deep breath and nodded.

Ryan turned to Esposito "told you, pay up buddy."

"Thanks a lot Beckett" Esposito said hanging Ryan $10

Beckett's jaw dropped as she watched the two men turn around and head back to their desks. "Hey hey hey, get back here! What was that all about?"

"After you let it slip that you and Castle went to dinner I bet Esposito that you two were a couple and just hadn't told us yet. He didn't think so, and obviously he was wrong." Ryan said throwing his partner a grin.

She smiled. "Well technically we weren't a couple until last night, which means we weren't together yet when I told you about dinner, even though it was sort of a date. So really neither of you win."

Esposito turned to Ryan "I'll take that ten bucks back."

Next it was off to tell Lanie. Kate decided to call down first this time. "Hey Lanie, do you have a few minutes? I have to tell you something."

"Yeah sure, come on down."

Kate got in the elevator and took it down to where the ME spent her time. She walked in to see her friend poking around in a body. "Is this a bad time?"

Lanie took her gloves off and smiled at Kate "no not at all, just finishing up. So what's going on?"

"I had dinner with Castle and Alexis last night, and we watch a movie."

"Good for you girl."

"And then he made one of the most amazing chocolate milkshakes I've had in a long time. And then he said that he really liked that we were being honest with each other but that he didn't know where it left us and…" she paused to gauge her friends reaction. "Well, now there is an 'us'."

Lanie got up and gave Kate a hug. "Do you have any idea how long all of us have been waiting for this?"

"Actually I do, Ryan and Esposito were taking bets after I went to dinner with Castle the other night." They both laughed.

Meanwhile that morning, Rick Castle was on a school bus filled with Alexis' schoolmates. They were headed to some science lab about an hour away. Alexis was sitting up near the front of the bus, but turned around occasionally to see her dad surrounded by kids telling stories about his adventures with the NYPD. As much as he embarrassed her sometimes, and had a tendency to make a fool out of himself, she loved that he still made time to go on fieldtrips with her and entertain her friends. They never told each other much but she loved him and was glad he was the one that had raised him.

A few minutes later he appeared at her side and slid into the seat next to her. "Taking a break from your adoring fans?" she asked.

"Those kids are relentless. There's only so much I can tell them before your teachers yell at me."

She smiled. "So what was going on with you and detective Beckett last night? Don't think I didn't notice."

"Yeah I need to talk to you about that. Kate and I are a couple now. She wanted me to make sure that was ok with you. And I want it to be ok with you too. I mean if it's not just tell me, because she will probably be spending a lot more time at the house now…" he sort of trailed off waiting for her to say something.

"Dad you know I really like her, and I don't mind her being around more. She's fun to spend time with when she isn't freaking out about a case."

"You've noticed how she does that too?"

The both laughed and Alexis asked "did you really think I would mind you two being together? Me and gram have been waiting for it to happen for like a year."

"No I didn't think you would mind but she set down some ground rules, and one of them was I clear it with you."

Alexis shook her head "dad aren't you supposed to be the man in the relationship?"

"I may be the man but she has the gun."

"Good point. Better play it safe." She stopped as someone called him back to the group of kids waiting for more stories. "Looks like you're being summoned."

He smiled and headed for the back of the bus again. He kept telling the kids stories but his mind was on the crime fighting detective he could now call his girlfriend.

**Well, now they are a couple. What do you think?**

**The more reviews I get the faster the next chapter will be up :p**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Ok this chapter flashes forward a little bit (three months). Enjoy :)

Rick looked at the girl sitting next to him in the car, driving them to work. They had been together for three months and people had gotten used to them arriving at work together. Some nights Rick would stay at her house and they would fall asleep laughing at each other and watching movies. Some nights Kate would fall asleep first and he could never bring himself to leave her. It was rare, however, that she stayed at his house. He suspected it had something to do about his mom and daughter being in the house, but he didn't press the matter. He was just glad they were still together and things were going smoothly. Or at least as smoothly as could be expected given his childlike nature and the fact that she had a gun.

They hadn't officially made their relationship public, but they had been seen together going to dinner a few times. There had even been an article in a couple of magazines, but Kate had declined to comment. She was willing to put up with the publicity and hype that came with dating Richard Castle, but she wanted her private life kept private. His fame was something she had always known about but they had never really discussed before becoming a couple. She was still amazed at the amount of fan mail he got. So she was surprised when she got to work that morning and found a letter on her desk. She never got mail at the precinct.

"What's this?" she asked Ryan, who was sitting at his desk. "And where's Esposito?"

He looked up "Esposito is running a bit late and that looks like a letter."

Castle snatched the letter from her hands "That my friend looks like fan mail. I'm surprised it took this long."

She grabbed it back "excuse me but that's mine. And how do you know its fan mail?"

"Is it from an address you know? Or somebody you know?"

"No. And what do you mean you're surprised it took so long?"

"We have been together for three months and there have been articles in the paper. People know we are together and I have a million or so fans, most of which are woman, and quite a few of which have sent me marriage proposals over the mail. I'm surprised none of them have sent you mail yet."

"Yeah well, I'm sure it's not fan mail." She opened the letter and scanned it before putting it in her purse.

"Well?" Castle asked.

"It's just a letter about my high school reunion later this year."

They made it through the day without incident, something that didn't happen very often. Rick left the precinct early to see Alexis off. She was going away for the weekend with a friend's family. Martha was away as well with a play she was doing. After taking some time to himself to write and just lounge around he decided to call Kate. Maybe he could get her to spend the night. Not that he didn't like being at her house, but he enjoyed seeing her at his.

She picked up on the second ring "Hey Castle."

"How was the rest of your day?"

"Well it was fantastic after you left."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Glad I could make your day better, even if it was by my leaving. Now what do you say you come over tonight? Martha is still away and Alexis just left for her little getaway."

"I don't know Castle, I had quite the exhausting day. What's my incentive?"

"Well if I'm not enough of an incentive I'll make sure I make it worth your while."

She enjoyed joking with him, especially when they both knew she would end up over there in the end. "I'll be there in an hour."

After eating dinner and showering Kate got in a taxi and headed over to Castle's place. She couldn't help but smile at his face when he saw her on the other side of his door. She would always be amazed that he had picked her. That out of all the women he could take his pick of, it was her that he was wrapping his arms around and her that he was pressing his lips against, softly but urgently.

Castle felt the same amazement every time he saw her smile at him. He knew he could have almost any woman he wanted, but there had come a point in his working with the detective that he had decided to wait for her, to show her that he wasn't going anywhere or planning on being with anyone else.

They stood there for a minute, just enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms and then retreated to the couch. After they got comfortable Castle decided to ask the question that had been bugging him all day. "So are you going to tell me what was really in that letter?"

She didn't bother to ask how he knew. He had been right about it being fan mail, though it wasn't exactly the good kind. She pulled it out of her purse and handed it to him. His eyes got wider and wider as he read it

_Dear Detective Kate Beckett, _

_First of all let me say thank you for all that you do for this city, I am glad we have someone like you putting criminals behind bars. _

_Second I would like to tell you that you have made a big mistake by being in a relationship with Rick Castle. I love him, and I'm going to be with him someday. He may not want me in the short run, but in the end I will be his. I have no problem fighting for what I want, and I want him. He may think he loves you now, but he will come around eventually, and then I'll make my move. _

_ Until then detective,_

_ Kaylee Lincoln_

"Kate why didn't you tell me?" he asked, handing the letter back to her.

"Because it's no big deal. I can handle it."

"No big deal? This is a very big deal. People can't threaten you like this, I'm not going to let it happen, especially from my fans."

She turned to him. "Rick, I'm a cop remember? I'll bring her in for threatening a police officer. That should teach her a lesson. Plus, I believe you told me on our first case together that hate mail was an occupational hazard?"

"Yeah I mean like 'your writing sucks you should stop writing and drop off the face of the earth' type of hate mail. Not the 'I'm going to kill you and marry your boyfriend' type."

She smiled "What are you worried or something?"

He pressed his lips to hers for a second. "Yes. I know you're strong and very good with your gun,"

"And don't forget I have an entire precinct ready and willing to defend my honor."

He nodded "and there's that. But your job puts you in danger all the time and I'm always going to worry."

She sighed "I guess you're allowed to worry a little bit, just don't go crazy."

"Alright. And you'll bring her in tomorrow?"

"Mhmm, we don't have a case so it shouldn't be a problem. Now can we please talk about something else?"

He nodded and she leaned into him, getting as close as possible. Who was she kidding? She thought it was kinda cute that he was worried about her, and she kind of liked how possessive he had gotten. It felt good to have someone want to defend her like that.

After a while, Rick led them up to his bedroom and they fell asleep entwined in each other's arms.

Ok, Ok, I know i didnt show their 'first kiss' but i like the way it turned out so please dont hate me for it :p

Also this story is a bit different from most of the stories I've read. If you noticed they dont get together and immediately start sleeping together, even though they spend the night at eith others' house. I just picture them as taking it really slow.

And lastly, it might be a while before I can get the next chapter out. I have all the idea floating around up in my head but I have 2 tests and an entire book to read this week. So I will get it out as soon as possible but it might be a little while.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**What will Castle do when confronted with the woman that sent Beckett the hate mail? Also this chapter has a slightly higher rating than the others ;)**

Kate and Rick walked into the precinct together the next morning. "Hey guys I got a job for us to do" she said walking up to Ryan and Esposito's desk and handing them the letter to read.

"What's this?" Ryan asked

"That is the letter I got yesterday. It wasn't for my school reunion. It was…from one of Castle's fans."

Ryan read it and handed it to Esposito without saying anything. He read it and looked up at Beckett. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner? Please tell me we get to bring her in?"

"You bet, get a last known address."

They found the address and the four of them were off, Castle and Beckett in one car and Ryan and Esposito in another, as usual. "Castle will you do me a favor?" Kate asked as they were pulling up to the house.

"Anything" he said looking into her eyes.

"I need you to stay here" he was about to protest but she cut him off "If she's in there and sees you it could make things a whole lot worse, not to mention what she might do if she sees us together."

He took a deep breath and nodded. She smiled at him, got out of the car and put her vest on. Her two partners were doing the same thing. Once they were ready they walked up to the front door. Kate didn't want to make a scene if they didn't have to. "Ms. Lincoln? NYPD open up!" she called. Nobody answered so she knocked and repeated herself. When there was no answer again she nodded to her partners and stole a glance back at Castle before kicking the door open. "Ms. Lincoln? NYPD"

They heard something from another room and went into the living room to see Kaylee Lincoln simply sitting there watching TV "Can I help you detectives?" she asked looking at them and smiling.

"Ms. Lincoln you do realize you we are real NYPD cops putting you under real arrest for threatening me?" Beckett said as Esposito cuffed her and read her the rights. They got her back to the precinct without incident and put her in one of the interrogation rooms. Beckett put her hand on the door to enter the room but Castle stopped her "Castle you can't come in here either. I'm sorry." She said looking at him.

"I know. But don't go in there alone. And be careful."

She thought about what he was saying for a second then opened her mouth "Esposito" he looked up and she nodded toward the door she was waiting to open.

"Thanks" Castle said as they went into the interrogation room and him and Ryan entered the observation room. They watched as Esposito and Beckett talked to the suspect.

"Ms. Lincoln you know why you're here right?" Kate asked and she sat down across the table.

"Well I assume you got the lovely little note I sent you. Is Mr. Castle with you guys? I'd like to see him."

"Ms. Lincoln threatening a police officer is a serious offense" Esposito chimed in. "You can do some serious time for that offense alone, and I have a feeling you don't want us adding on stalking charges. Now the detective you threatened just happens to be connected to people in very high places and she won't hesitate to make sure you serve the maximum time, and without parole as well."

The woman looked at them both very carefully. "Neither of you actually read the letter did you?" she asked calmly.

"We both have read it, multiple times" Beckett interjected.

"Well then," she said, still calm "you are not very good at your jobs."

"Excuse me?" Esposito said, starting to get angry.

Castle and Ryan were both starting to really dislike the woman sitting there so calmly. "Is she stupid or just looking to get arrested?" Castle asked the man standing next to him. Ryan only shrugged and continued to watch the interaction.

"If you look closely at that letter detectives you will notice that I never made any actual threats. First of all I complemented you on your excellent success rate. Then I simply stated the fact that you might have made a mistake, and that while Mr. Castle is with you right now, he won't be forever. Saying that you'll fight for what you love isn't a threat is it detective?" the woman's eyes almost seemed to sparkle and she sat there smiling triumphantly.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Castle yelled. "There is no way she can get off like that!"

"Actually…" Ryan started, "she has a point. If she didn't make any direct threats there's nothing we can hold her for. She didn't resist arrest or anything else either."

Beckett and Esposito sat there dumbfounded for a minute then looked at each other. They both knew they had nothing to hold her on. They set the letter on the table and read over it quickly. Kate looked at her partner and nodded. Esposito stood up. "You are free to go Ms. Lincoln" he said and they followed her out of the room.

Castle met Beckett at her desk once the woman was gone. "You really couldn't hold her on anything?" he asked, and she could tell he was upset.

"Rick if you read the letter carefully she's right. There were no direct threats. And unfortunately I can't arrest anyone for just being creepy. So unless she does start stalking you we can't do anything."

"My mom and Alexis are still out of town for tonight, will you stay at my pace again?" he asked her with a serious look on his face. "If you can't arrest her I want you to stay close to me."

Looking into his eyes to see he was serious she got that thrill again at the thought of him being so protective. "I'll come over but you can't protect me forever. I have to go home sometime."

"I know, I just, want to make sure you're ok."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully and when it was time to go home Castle and Beckett stopped at her house so she could grab a few things before heading back to his place. As far as he could recall this would be the first time they had spent more than one night in a row with each other. Castle made pasta for dinner and they ate by candle light.

Afterwards they curled up on the couch together and just enjoyed each other's company. Castle, however had something on his mind. "Kate?" she looked up at him and he paused the movie they were watching. "I have something I want to ask you."

She sat up and faced him. "Go for it."

"You remember how you said I can't protect you forever? And that you had to go home sometime?"

She got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and all she could do was nod.

"Well, I'd like to ask you to move in with me. I'll clear it with Martha and Alexis first of course, but, I want you to come live here, with me."

Her jaw dropped. She couldn't think of what to say. All of her insecurities seemed to come to the surface as she thought about moving in with Rick Castle. "Rick, we've only been together a few months. What if you get sick of me, or change your mind, or something happens and we break up?"

"Well I'm not going to get sick of you, or change my mind. I've waited for over a year to be with you Kate, and I'm not going to give up easily or just let us fall apart."

She was quiet for a minute. She knew he was right. She wasn't just going to let things fall apart either, but this was a big step. She had been with guys before, and been in relationships that had lasted far longer than three months. Not one of those times had she moved in with her boyfriend, or asked him to move in with her. She knew if she did this, if she moved in with him now, there was no turning back.

"You need to ask Martha and Alexis the second they get back." She saw his eyes lit up as he realized she was saying yes and she decided she needed to clarify what she was saying. "I'll stay for a while, but I'm not making anything permanent yet. This is…a really big step."

He nodded. "I know it is, you can stay and try this out for as long as you want. I haven't lived with anyone but family in a long time either, so this can give both of us time to get used to it."

"Thanks Rick, for understanding."

"Of course" he said, pressing his lips to hers.

The kiss was soft, gentle at first, but as they pulled back and looked in each other's eyes it became more urgent. Kate put her arms around his neck and found his arms around her waist. She leaned forward, pushing him back until he was almost lying down and she was on top of him. She deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue in to mingle with his. They were both breathing heavily when she pulled back and let Castle lead her to his room. Once there they were both quickly stripped of clothes and picking up where they had left off.

They spent the rest of the night exploring each other and getting closer to each other than either of them had ever imagined. As they came together each of their senses came alive, and each was used to feel the other.

Dawn found their clothes still on the floor and the couple lying in bed, blissfully asleep in each other's loving embrace.

**Reviews pleeeeeeease :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Rick awoke the next morning to find himself alone in bed. He sat up and looked around, wondering where Kate was. He was about to get up and check downstairs when he heard the shower running in the next room. He lay back down and smiled, glad she was making herself at home.

He must have fallen asleep because the next time he opened his eyes Kate was standing over him in a towel letting her hair drip onto his face. She squealed as he pulled her onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her. Her attempts at unwinding his arms were futile. She inhaled deeply as he began peppering kisses on her shoulders. His lips felt so good on her bare skin. "Rick, I have…work" she managed to get out.

He shook his head "no, you have to stay here with me today and we can avoid work together."

She grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his head up to look at her "Rick have you been avoiding Gina again?"

She smiled "Have I told you how beautiful you are in the morning?"

She rolled over, got up and pulled on a pair of pants. "Flattery will not get you out of writing another book."

He groaned "Can't you arrest her for harassment or something?" he looked at his phone. "I have three messages from her just from this morning."

She leaned over and kissed him lightly as she was buttoning her shirt. "No. now I'm going to work, and you stay here and write another book about me." She bit her bottom lip as she slid on her heels and it was all Rick could do to stay where he was. "After work I'm going to stop by my place and pack a couple of bags." She hesitated "that is…if you still want me to try moving in."

He got up and went to stand in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. "Of course I still want you to move in. But since we were just going to try it out for a little while try not to worry about bringing too much stuff over. You don't have to move all at once."

She took a deep breath. "I know, thanks. I just want to pack a bag of clothes and some other personal stuff."

"Good, I'll see you tonight then. I'm making dinner."

She kissed him one more time before heading downstairs and leaving for work. Once she was gone Rick went in for his turn in the shower. He took his time making a big breakfast and watching the morning news. All too soon though, he decided he had better do at least a little bit of writing. He sent Gina a text saying _I'm working, stop calling_ with a little smiley face, hoping that would alleviate some of her nagging.

Forcing himself to actually sit down and start writing was always the hard part, but once he began he sat there for hours, wrapped up in his own world. Finally he peeled his fingers off of the keyboard and stood up, stretching. He looked at the clock on his desk, it was almost 4 o'clock already. He saved what he had been working on, shut off his computer and looked around at his office. It was a mess. If Kate was going to be moving in he wanted everything to look nice for her, even if she wouldn't be spending much time in his office.

He arranged all the papers on the desk to look neater and threw away all the candy wrappers, take out containers and empty bags of chips that were laying around. Once he was done in there he moved on to the living room

The house was kept pretty clean but he vacuumed the rug then stood back to admire his handiwork. Satisfied he looked at his phone. It was almost 5pm and he had a text from Beckett. It read _Leaving the precinct now. Home in about an hour?_

He smiled at how she was already calling his apartment home. He told her that would be fine and he couldn't wait to see her. He was expecting his mom and daughter home at some point that night but wanted to do something nice for Beckett. He went upstairs and cleaned out a drawer in his dresser and some space to hang clothes in the closet for her. He figured once things were more permanent, if they got that way, he could get another dresser or make more space.

He then decided it was time to start dinner. After looking through the cupboards he decided on pasta with his homemade meatballs and sauce. He mixed up the sauce and set it on the stove to simmer, then put the meatballs in the oven to cook before putting them in with the sauce. He set the table with enough plates for all four of them in case Alexis and Martha came home in time to eat with them, then set candles on the table and lit them. He almost wished he had flowers for the table, but figured he could save that for another time.

He looked at his watch, Kate would be home any minute. He set a pot of water on the stove and poured the pasta in. He was stirring the sauce a minute later when there was a knock on the door. He went to get it and saw Kate standing there with a couple of bags. "Tomorrow I'm going to have a key made for you." He took one of the bags from her and indicated that she should follow him. He set the bag down on his bed and showed her the space he had made in the closet.

"Castle, you didn't have to." He said looking at him and smiling.

"I also cleared out a drawer for you in the dresser." He said. "I want you to feel at home here, and that means I'm not letting you live out of a duffel bag. I figured if this becomes more permanent we can figure something else out."

She walked up to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Thanks Rick, I appreciate it."

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Dinner is almost ready, so be back downstairs in a few minutes." He turned and left her to start unpacking.

When he got downstairs he found his mother and daughter walking in the door. "Something sure smells good." Martha commented.

Alexis walked into the kitchen and looked into the pots on the stove. "Oh dad you made your sauce and meatballs?"

He nodded "Yup and you guys are just in time for dinner. Kate is here too."

The women in question appeared at the top of the stairs. "Martha, Alexis, it's good to see you guys." She said descending.

The two other women agreed as they all headed for the table. Rick set big bowls of the pasta and sauce on the table and they all dished up their own plates.

"Castle this is amazing." Kate said a couple of bites into the meal. "What kind of sauce is this? And where did you get the meatballs?"

He gave her one of his trademark lopsided grins "I made them detective."

She dropped her fork. "You made all of this?"

Alexis chimed in. "Yeah he does it every once in a while. Whenever there's someone special over for dinner." She said smiling at Kate.

Beckett turned and smiled at Castle before giving him a look that reminded him he had something to discuss with everyone at the table.

He took a breath, knowing nobody would disagree but nervous all the same. "Mom, Alexis, I have something I need to talk to you guys about."

"What is it dear? Is everything ok?" Martha turned to Beckett. "Did something happen at the precinct?"

Beckett hesitated "sort of, but nothing really bad. I want to let Castle explain."

Everyone turned to look at Rick and he continued. "While the both of you were away, Kate got mail from one of my fans. It was a…hate letter of sorts." Both Martha and Alexis started to ask questions but he silenced them. "Nothing bad happened. It was written by a woman named Kaylee Lincoln, and she said that she planned on marrying me and Beckett wouldn't be with me for long, that type of thing. We brought her in to question her, but since the letter didn't make any direct threats we couldn't hold her."

Alexis had a very worried look on her face as she asked "Dad is everyone ok? I mean you've had slightly insane fans before but none of them have done anything like this."

He nodded. "We are both fine and we are going to keep an eye on her. But…" he hesitated again. "I don't particularly like the idea of Beckett staying by herself. So I've asked her to move in with us. I wanted to make sure that was ok with the two of you before we made any definite decision."

Martha got a huge smile on her face as she addressed the detective. "Kate, dear, you know you are welcome here any time, for any reason and for as long as you would like."

"Thanks Martha" she said blushing.

Alexis added in her opinion. "Yeah, dad and Kate, it's more than ok with me, as long as you're both ok and happy."

Rick turned to Beckett "Told you they wouldn't mind."

She blushed again. "I know, I just wanted to make sure. And thank you both, very much. As of right now me living here is just until this blows over…"

Rick cut her off "but if everything works out it may become more permanent." He smiled and took her hand under the table.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Martha and Alexis went to their own rooms to unpack and unwind from their weekend. Rick and Kate retired to their room and Rick lay in bed reading and watching Kate silently unpack her things and put them away. He was amazed at how meticulous she was being.

When she was done unloading the few things she had brought over she climbed into bed and they simply enjoyed each other's' company until they both fell asleep.

The next morning they were both getting ready to go to the precinct when Rick opened the door and stopped. There was another letter laying on the welcome mat with the words _Kate Beckett_ written on the front. He called her over to the door and she stopped when she saw what he was looking at. She slowly picked it up with shaking hands. "It's the same handwriting" she said.

He put and arm around her protectively as she turned the envelope over and opened it. Something fell out of the letter as Kate unfolded it. Rick bent down and picked it up but froze as he was handing it to her. It was a picture. She looked at him with a question in her eyes and took it from him. It was a picture of her carrying her bags into his building the evening before. Her breath caught in her throat and he hands were shaking even more as she turned her eyes to the letter.

_Your time is running out Detective Beckett. Don't get in my way_.

They looked at each other in horror. "Is that a direct enough threat?" Rick asked.

Kate nodded as they walked out the door. As they got into the car she dialed the precinct to fill them in and let them know they were on their way.

*Gasp* hehe

Reviews please?


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

I am no expert on how serious obsessions work, but i tried to make it sound realistic :)

Kate Beckett strode into the precinct with a determined look on her face. She was scared but she couldn't let it show. "Ryan, Esposito. Did you get surveillance on her place?"

"There are two officers in an unmarked car sitting outside now." He stopped as his phone rang. "Speak of the devil." He said and answered it.

Just then the captain poked his head out of his office and looked at Kate and Rick. "Can I talk to the two of you for a minute?" They went into his office and shut the door behind them. "Beckett I want to let you know I'm putting a detail on your building. I don't plan on letting that lady anywhere near you."

Beckett looked at Castle and he nodded. "Actually sir, I'm staying at Castle's place for the time being."

"Ok then Castle I'm putting someone at your building. I'm not taking any chances with this. Now where do we stand on bringing her in?"

"Well sir," Beckett said taking a step forward. "We have two officers keeping an eye on her, Esposito was just on the phone with them. We were just waiting for me and Castle to get here before going to pick her up. This letter was a direct threat and she had a picture so we can add stalking charges to that."

"Well then what are you waiting for?" the captain said.

Castle and Beckett nodded and went back out to see what the phone call had been about. "Everything all set to go pick her up Esposito?" she asked.

"She's on the move. Apparently she just pulled up to a Chuck E Cheese and went inside. She hasn't come out yet."

"She doesn't have any kids, what the heck is she doing at Chuck E Cheese?" Ryan asked

Castle finally spoke up. He turned to Beckett and said "Please tell me we get to go find out. I love Chuck E Cheese. They have the best pizza."

She rolled her eyes and started walking. "C'mon boys, and Castle? Don't make me handcuff you to the car again."

Ten minutes later the two cars carrying Ryan, Esposito, Castle and Beckett pulled up in front of the building. Another squad car pulled up in front of the back exit. They got out and went up to the unmarked car that held the two officers that had been watching Ms. Lincoln. "She still in there?" the men said they hadn't seen her come out and the four partners headed off in the direction of the entrance. Beckett turned toward Ryan and Esposito "spread out, but don't draw unless she gives you reason, we don't want a scene if we don't need one." They nodded and turned in separate directions.

Beckett then turned to Castle. "Can you control yourself in there and actually help out or is this going to be a problem?"

"I would like to tell you that I can act my age, but you know me better than that. Also I have a pocket full of quarters to play whack-a-mole."

"Castle" she said through gritted teeth.

"Relax detective, I was kidding. If I see this woman I'm not going to let her get away."

Kate looked at him for a moment then nodded. She turned and surveyed the area. "Great, it looks like there are three birthday parties going on here." She said as she noted the dozens of kids running around and groups of parents sitting around the edges. Ryan and Esposito were off to the left showing Kaylee's picture to some of the adults. Her and Castle set off to the right to do the same thing. After asking what seemed like a dozen people they finally got someone who claimed they saw her.

"Yeah it was definitely her." The older man said. "I was just sitting down after bringing my niece in and she was over by where you turn in your tickets."

"Was she talking to anyone?" Castle asked.

The man nodded. "She was talking to whoever was in the big mouse suit."

"Thank you" Kate said. She handed the man her card. "If you think of anything else please give me a call." They headed off to try and find someone in a giant mouse suit. She looked over at Castle and had to stifle a laugh when she saw his expression. He was standing there turning in circles looking at everything with a huge grin on his face. She snapped her fingers and he turned back to her "C'mon Castle, keep up."

He gave her a pleading expression. "One game?"

She rolled her eyes but nodded. "One. Got it?" he nodded and she continued "Ok, I'll be over at the front desk trying to find the manager and find out who was in the costume." He nodded and dashed off for one of the machines with lots of flashing lights and noises. She allowed herself a chuckle as she headed for the front desk.

When she finally got a hold of the manager she showed him her badge. "I'm detective Kate Beckett. Do you know this woman?" she showed him the picture.

He shook his head. "No, she's not one of my employees and I don't recognize her at all. Can I ask what's going on?"

"It's very important that we find this woman. She was seen here earlier talking to one of your employees in the mouse costume. Can you tell me the names of everyone who wore that suit today?"

He nodded and gave her three names. She wrote them down along with their contact information and went to find Ryan and Esposito. Once she found them she read off the three names. "We have a James Simmons, Linda Ester, and Brian Adams. I want to bring them all into the station for questioning but Brian was the last one in the suit so let's start with him. Nobody else could have had time to put it on before we got here. I'll meet you back at the precinct."

She found Castle playing the basketball shooting game with a bunch of little kids standing around him cheering. She looked over and saw Ryan and Esposito cuffing the suspect and decided she could wait until he was finished with his game. Once he was finished he turned around and saw her watching him. He smiled at her and walked over to where she was standing. "Find anything out?" he asked

She nodded and started walking back to the car. "There were three people in the suit today. The only one that would have been able to be the one talking to her was a guy by the name of Brian Adams. He is being brought to the station now." She turned the car on and pulled out.

"Then where are we going?"

"I don't know about you but after all this excitement I could use a large cup of coffee."

He smiled and reached over to take her hand. She blushed and tried to focus on the road as his thumb traced soothing circles on the back of her hand.

After their quick coffee break they went back to the precinct. She went into the observation room to stand and watch Brian for a minute while Ryan brought up his file and got her a copy. Castle stood in the doorway watching her. He was always amazed at how she handled things, even situations like this that hit so close to home. She was watching the man behind the glass closely. She turned to leave and noticed Castle. He took a step inside and closed the door. "I know we're at work and this is breaking one of your rules but…" he walked up and took her in his arms. "I wish I could go in there with you."

She let herself lean into him and take a few deep breaths. She could pretend she wasn't nervous about going in there but it would be a lie. "Esposito is going to come in with me again, don't worry."

He let go of her and smiled. "Thanks." He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss on her forehead.

Just then Ryan came in and handed her the file. "Nothing unusual. Couple of speeding tickets and a drug charge five years back but he's been clean since then."

She skimmed the rest of the file and nodded before rounding up Esposito and heading into the interrogation room. Brian looked up as she entered. "So you're the detective she was talking about." He said.

"Who's she?" Esposito asked.

"Kaylee Lincoln"

"How well do you know Ms. Lincoln?" Beckett asked Adams as she sat down.

He leaned forward. "I've known her five years or so. Met her right after I got out of rehab. I'd say we're pretty good friends. Used to have some…benefits too if you know what I mean, but not since she got hooked on that writer."

Esposito shot Beckett a glance and asked the man "Did you know about Ms. Lincolns' obsession with the author?"

Brian chuckled a bit "It was kind of hard to miss. It didn't start out crazy, but she had a tendency to obsess over things. There was always something she was going on about. This started out normal enough. She picked up one of his books in the store and loved it. She even convinced me to read it. It wasn't half bad either. I don't remember which one it was though.."

"Are you going to make a point Mr. Adams?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, she wasn't all crazy when I met her, like I said. But then she read this book, and loved it, so she went out and read all the other ones. Then it started getting weird. She would say she saw him in the store, or heard him on the radio. This was worse than her other obsessions. Finally she started saying that she was going to marry him someday. That's when we stopped spending so much time together. She told me she couldn't be with me anymore because she didn't want to upset him."

Esposito and Beckett looked at each other. "When was the last time you saw Kaylee?" Esposito asked.

Brian hesitated for just a fraction of a second before saying "oh I don't know, last week sometime I think."

Beckett noticed the slight hesitation and jumped on it. "You think? I need you to know. When was the last time you saw her?" she looked him in the eye and watched him closely.

"Last week."

Beckett smiled a little bit. "Then why is it your manager said you were the one in the Chuck E Cheese suit talking to her today?"

"That wasn't me!" Brian said, starting to get nervous.

"Brian, he told us you were the last one in the suit. Nobody else would have had time to put it on before we got there. Now I'm going to give you one more chance to tell me the truth before you get in a lot of trouble."

"She likes getting people in trouble" Esposito chimed in with a grin. "So you had better do as she asks."

Brian looked back and forth for a second, unsure of what to do. Beckett stood up to leave and he made up his mind. "Ok, ok, I did see her today. She came in and I was wearing the costume." Beckett sat back down and he kept going. "She told me she was in trouble. Said she knew she had been acting odd lately but missed me and needed my help. She didn't tell me what was going on. She asked if she could borrow my car and I gave her the keys. I don't know where she took it."

"You just gave her your keys without asking questions?" Esposito asked skeptically.

"Oh I asked, she said she would find me when I got off work and tell me what was going on. I assumed she wasn't going too far if she was going to come and find me."

Beckett took a deep breath and stood up. "See, telling the truth wasn't so hard was it? Now instead of getting in a lot of trouble you're only in a little bit." Her and Esposito got up and left him sitting by himself in the cold room. Castle met them at the murder board. She added a couple of things to the timeline then turned around and faced the three men that were watching her intently. "Guys, we need to find that car. Ryan, I want all patrol cars alerted to the make and model and keeping an eye out. Esposito, send out an APB to all the other stations in the state, it might be a bit much but just in case. After you guys get that done you can go home. It's starting to get dark so I doubt we will find anything tonight."

"And what about you detective?" Castle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm going to stay here a bit longer and…"

"No way Beckett." Esposito said. "if you send us home first you will end up staying here until you fall asleep."

"I will not."

"Yeah Beckett, we know you've done it before." Ryan said with a smile. "Besides, the past couple of days have been hard I'm sure, you need to get some rest."

She looked at Castle then at Ryan and Esposito. "You guys aren't leaving until I do are you?" all three of them shook their heads and she sighed, knowing she was defeated. "Ok, you guys get that stuff sent out and then you can leave." She put her coat on and turned to the writer. "Castle, let's go home."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: There's a part in this chapter that sounds a lot like when Beckett says "I have a difficult job but you make it a little more fun, I've gotten used to you pulling my pigtails" but I do not intend any copyright infringement **

Kate woke up to the smell of coffee. She stood up and stretched before opening the door and following the smell to the kitchen. She stood, silent, for a second watching Castle pour the coffee into two mugs and load up two plates with bacon, and waffles. "Morning Castle" she said walking up behind him and putting her arms around his shoulders

"Go back to bed" he said without turning around.

"Excuse me?"

He finally turned around. He was holding two plates that were piled high with waffles, eggs and hash browns. "I was going to bring this to you in bed. You're ruining my romantic gesture."

She took one of the plates from him and popped one of the hash browns in her mouth. "It's ok, you're going to forgive me. And how about we go to the couch instead?"

He smiled, nodded and followed her to the living room. After the past couple of days they were both content to just enjoy their breakfast in silence.

Eventually Castle spoke up. "So what's next with this case?"

"Unfortunately there's not a whole lot we can do until we find the car. We don't have any other leads at this point."

"Well, in that case why don't you take the morning off and go in a couple of hours late?"

She turned to him with a concerned look on her face.

"You know Ryan and Esposito will call you if they find anything."

"I don't know, I really feel like-"

"Like you need to be there" he said, cutting her off.

"You know me too well,' she said getting up and heading off to get dressed.

"Detective, have you forgotten that for a while it was my job to observe you?

"Believe me Castle, I could never forget."

Half an hour later the couple was getting off the elevator to the precinct as Beckett's phone rang. She saw that it was Ryan and silenced it without answering. She walked up behind his desk and said "what have you got for me?"

He jumped and turned around. "Beckett, hey, I just tried to call you."

"I know. Update?"

"Beat cop just called. He found the car."

Beckett's heart picked up its pace as she thought about finding the woman that was harassing her. "Where?"

"Out closer to the edge of the city about a half hour drive. And get this, it's parked outside the house of her friend that we have down in holding."

"Any sign of her?" Beckett said, heading over to her desk.

Esposito answered her "no but we had the officer stay there and keep an eye on the car to make sure she didn't leave if she was there."

"Good. You guys…" her voice trailed off as she saw the newspaper on her desk. A heat rose to her face and she could hear the blood pulsing in her ears. She picked up the front section with trembling hands. She could barely comprehend what she was seeing. She looked up at the three men looking at her. The last face she saw belonged to Castle and suddenly the multiple feelings flooding her body at that moment turned to anger. She rolled up the section of the paper in her hand and stormed off to the interrogation room yelling behind her "Castle, follow me!"

He perked up and looked at where she was going. He got up and silently mouthed to Ryan and Esposito "what did I do?" They both shrugged and went back to their desks. He followed the detective into the cold room and closed the door. "Kate what's-" he was cut off.

"Sit down" she said through clenched teeth. He tried to take a step closer to put his arms around her but all she did was put the table between them and point to the seat across from her. He sat and she slammed the paper down on the table. She paced back and forth in front of the mirror while she waited for him to figure out why she was so mad.

He picked up the paper and unrolled it. He jaw dropped and he nearly dropped the paper when he saw what was spread across half of the front page. Along with the headline _Things 'Heat'ing up for New Yorks Finest_ was the picture Kaylee Lincoln had taken and sent to them of Beckett carrying her bags into Castle's apartment. "Oh my god, Kate, I'm so sorry. I haven't had a problem with reporters at the house in years, I never thought it would get this bad." He looked up at her and she was still pacing. "What can I do?" he asked.

She stopped and looked at him. "I don't know Castle." She put one hand on her hip and ran the other one through her hair. "When we worked that first case together you annoyed the crap out of me. You still do actually." Her face softened a little as she sat down across from him. "But I have a hard job Castle, and you make it a little bit amusing. Got used to your crazy ideas and realized that some of them aren't so crazy. Things went back to normal."

She smiled a little and he smiled back. He tried to reach out and take her hand but she crossed her arms over her chest and started talking again. "Then you turned me into Nikki Heat. I was flattered, even if I didn't show it. I liked my fifteen minutes of fame and getting dressed up to go to the Heat Wave release."

"You looked good that night" Castle added.

She blushed "that's not the point."

"Then what is? Because right now you're not making a lot of sense."

"My point is, Castle, that I didn't mind the first couple of interviews or articles. When you signed on to shadow me I expected it. But things went farther than I ever expected them to, and this," she picked up the newspaper and waved it around.

Castle could tell the worst part of the conversation was about to start. He stayed silent and let her continue. "This is not what I signed up for and it's not ok. I like you a lot Castle, and I'm happy with you. I don't mind being seen with you in public or getting dressed up and going to book parties. I'll even give another interview if I have to, but right now, my personal life is on the front page of the New York fucking Times. I can't deal with this Castle. I want to make things work between us but I can't live my life on the front page." She finally fell silent and just sat there, staring at the man across from her.

"Kate…" he started with a hurt expression on his face. "The press, the reporters, soon they will stop caring about us being together. And fans like this are rare. But there are going to be other books parties with reporters and photographers, there are going to be other books and interviews and articles. That's who I am. It takes some getting used to. I want to make this work too and you mean the world to me Kate, but I can't stop being who I am for you."

"That's not what I mean Rick."

Now it was his turn to get upset. "Then what did you mean Kate? Because I can't figure out what you want from me in this situation. I've been here for two years waiting for you to tell me what you want and we just keep going in circles." He stopped and looked at her, waiting for a response. The ball was in her court now.

She returned his steady gaze and fought to keep her emotions under some sort of control. Tears were threatening to burst from her eyes. "I don't know Rick, but I think I need some time to figure it out." She paused and stood up to put some distance between them. "You should…go home, and I need to go deal with this case."

"Kate don't do this, we can work through this, we can-"

She cut him off "I'm not walking out of your life Castle, or asking you to stay away from the precinct forever. I just need some time to think about things. So today you go to your house, and I'll go to mine, and then…"

"Then what?" he asked, getting up and taking a couple of steps closer to her. This time she let him get close enough to cup her face in his hands. He noticed a tear sliding down her cheek and wiped it away with his thumb.

"Then we figure things out, but I need to go. Ryan and Esposito are waiting for me."

He nodded and stepped aside. She looked at him one more time before wiping away all traces of tears and opening the door. "Ryan and Esposito, you guys get to the house and find out if she's in there. I'm going to go talk to Brian Adams."

The two boys glanced at Castle, who was just standing in the door of the interrogation room and then headed for the elevator. Beckett headed for the holding cell where Brian Adams was being held without looking back.

**Dun dun duuuuuuun :p**

**Will they get back together or wont they? Reviews please :p**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Tried to go more into the minds of the characters in this chapter. Hope it worked. And a big thank you to my friend SkySmoke for helping me with editing and inspiration for this chapter **

Rick couldn't even begin to imagine what his face looked like as he watched Kate walk away. He stood there, in physical pain. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him not to let her go as she disappeared around the corner. His body and mind were telling him to run after her. His heart knew better. Seconds turned into minutes and he lost track of how long he had been standing there. When he finally convinced his feet to carry him to the elevator he was almost alone at the precinct. Just about everyone else had gone off to do work or gone to lunch.

He didn't remember getting in a taxi but all of a sudden he was back at the loft and Martha was asking him what was wrong. He vaguely remembered telling her that now wasn't a good time before he locked himself in his office. She knew enough to leave him alone, at least for a little while, when he was in there. He sat and stared at his bookshelf, then got up and paced, then sat back down. He needed to find something to get his body to settle down and stop trying to convince him it would be a good idea to call her.

After what must have been a couple of hours he heard a knock at the door. "Dad?" he heard a young voice call before he heard the knob turning.

"It's locked" he called out from where he was currently standing over by the window.

"Well unlock it and let me in before I find a way to break it down. Gram says you came home all funny and have been in there for almost three hours."

"Now isn't a good time."

"Gram said you said that too, now let me in."

Castle looked at the door, debating. He didn't want his daughter seeing him like this. He was sure he looked like a mess. "Don't you have homework or something you should be doing?"

"You're more important dad. And you have to come out sometime."

"No I don't."

"So you're just going to stay in those clothes for the rest of your life and never eat again?" When Alexis didn't get a response she continued. "Stop being so dramatic and open the door dad. Please?"

He took a deep breath and walked over to the door. The second he turned the lock the redhead opened the door, came in and shut it again behind her. "Dad what's going on?"

He sat back down in his swivel chair before saying anything. "Kate…left" was all he could get out before getting up to pace around some more.

"What do you mean she left? Her stuff is still here…" she walked up to her dad and touched him on the arm.

"The case we are working on, she got a hate letter from one of my fans, and then a letter with a picture of her moving her stuff in here. The lady had been following her." He stopped for a minute as his emotions threatened to get the better of him. He was upset at the situation and angry at himself that he hadn't been able to keep Kate from the publicity. "We were closing in on the stalker and then she put the picture she sent us in the newspaper, and they ran a whole article about Kate moving in here. She saw it and freaked out. We got in an argument at the precinct and…she told me to go home, that she needed time and would call me soon. Then she just…walked away." He turned away from his daughter and faced out the window again, bracing himself with both hands on the window frame.

Alexis was silent for a minute, just looking at her dad in shock. She knew what Kate meant to him, she had known for a while. They had only been officially dating for a few months but Alexis knew the feelings had been there a long time before that. "Dad…" she finally said in a quiet voice. "Kate cares about you, a lot. Even I can see that. She just needs her space. You know her well enough to know that she won't just disappear." He turned to her and she was amazed at the amount of pain she saw on his face. "She'll come back dad, you guys have waiting for this for too long for her to just walk away for good."

He nodded and she tried her best to give him a convincing smile. She left the room and closed the door behind her again. Castle almost walked over and locked it behind her but thought better of it. Instead he just walked to the door and listened to see if Alexis would tell his mother what was going on. He heard her rummaging around in the kitchen and then Martha asked her if he was ok. He smiled at his daughters' response.

"Something happened at work and he's a little shaken up but he'll be alright. He just needs some time to mope around in his office, you know him." A minute later Alexis came back into the room, this time without knocking. She set a glass of wine on his desk along with a turkey sandwich. "Don't stay locked in here for too long ok?"

She turned to go but he stopped her "Alexis wait," she turned back to him with a question in her eyes. "Want to play a game of scrabble?" he asked with a forced smile.

Kate fought to keep the tears at the back of her eyes as she walked away, leaving Castle standing in the door of the interrogation room. She could feel his eyes boring holes in the back of her head. What had she just done? Her steps slowed as her heart willed her to turn around and run back towards him and apologize for everything she had said. It hadn't been his fault that the picture had ended up in the paper, but she had taken it out on him. He should have warned her about that kind of publicity though right? Or should she be willing to accept it if she really wanted to be with him? She shook her head and took a deep breath. She couldn't worry about that now, she had a case to deal with, and they were closing in. _Focus_ she told herself, _you don't have time to think about that now._

She paused at the door to holding and gathered her thoughts. She had to be in charge going in there or she wouldn't get anything. She opened the door and walked down the row of holding cells until she got to Brians'. "Mr. Adams, do you know why Ms. Lincoln would be at your house?"

He looked up at her in shock. "What? No. why?"

"We found your car parked outside of your house, and you told us that she took your car, which means she went to your house." Her phone rang and she excused herself and walked a few steps away to answer it. All she did was listen for a minute then say ok and hang up. Walking back to Brian she started talking again. "It rained out last night Mr. Adams, you know what rain does to the ground right?"

"Um…turns it to mud?"

"That's right, and there is plenty of mud around the perimeter of your house. My people found shoe prints leading from the car to your back door, but no prints coming back out, which means she's still in your house."

Brian stammered but couldn't seem to say anything coherent.

Becketts' voice rose as she talked. "Brian if you're thinking of hiding something from me I would think again. I have not had a good morning and I am fully prepared to make yours just as miserable if you don't tell me what Kaylee Lincoln is doing at your house."

"I don't know! I don't have anything really valuable, I don't have anything related to you or that author. I don't know what she would want there unless…"

"Unless what Brian?" Beckett asked raising her voice even more.

"Unless she's just hiding there, waiting for everything to blow over or something."

Beckett took a step closer to the suspect. "What do you mean hiding?"

"I…have a panic room. I got it installed a few years back after I got broken into. Kaylee knew about it. I don't remember telling her the password to get into it but I don't know, I might have told her at some point. I showed it to her once. But that's the only reason I can think of she would be back there I swear."

"Brian I'm going to need the password to get into that room."

A minute later Esposito felt is phone go off and picked it up. "Yo Beckett, we still can't find her anywhere."

"That's because the house has a panic room. I'm on my way with the combo to get into it. I'll be there in five minutes."

She pulled up in front of the house and walked in to find Ryan and Esposito waiting for her at the foot of the stairs with half a dozen other officers. "Panic room is this way" she said pointing to the living room. Everyone followed her as she walked up to a small painting that hung next to the couch and took it off the wall. Behind it was a small electronic keyboard panel.

"Dude this so cool. Castle is going to be so mad he missed this." Ryan said.

Beckett's breath caught in her lungs and she felt a tug on her heartstrings. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. The code for the room was written on it and she punched the six number code into the keypad and heard a soft click. A panel in the side of the wall opened up to reveal a steel door. Beckett unholstered her weapon and leveled it at the door. Everyone else followed suit as she reached out and turned the handle in the door.

It opened smoothly and revealed Kaylee Lincoln sitting calmly in the corner of the room reading a book. "How'd you find me detective?" she asked.

Beckett nodded at two of the officers and they stepped forward to put the handcuffs on her. "Your friend Brian sold you out."

That got her attention. She looked at Beckett in shock as the cops led her out of the apartment and into one of the waiting squad cars. "No, he wouldn't do that."

"Well he did Ms. Lincoln. You can write him an angry letter from jail. You're good at those."

Kaylee stayed silent as she was put into the back of the car and simply stared at the three detectives and the car drove away.

Beckett turned to her partners. "Thanks for your help on this one guys."

"No problem Beckett." Esposito said. Ryan nodded in affirmation.

"I need to go home I think. It's been a really rough few days."

"Thought you were staying at Castle's place for a while?" Ryan asked

Beckett froze and tried to think of something to say. "Um, sort of, but I'm…going to my house tonight."

Ryan raised one eyebrow and Esposito simply asked "are you ok?"

She half smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just need a warm shower and a good night sleep."

Her two partners nodded and she headed back to her car. She drove around a bit before heading home, needing to clear her mind. Now that the case was finished she knew she needed to have another talk with Captain Montgomery about the offer he had made her. Right now though, that warm shower was sounding really good.

She opened the door to her apartment and dropped everything on the couch. She stripped off her clothes on the way to the shower, not caring that the curtains on her window were still open. She turned on the shower and just stood there letting the hot water calm her down. She closed her eyes and thought back to the look on Castle's face when she told him to go home. She thought about how hard it had been to walk away from him. She allowed a few tears to fall before pushing them back.

What was she thinking? Rick Castle had done nothing but been there for her, she saw that now. The past three months had been the happiest she had had in a long time, was she really about to give that up over this case? Was she really going to fault him for something that was out of his control? She wondered, no, not wondered, knew she had made a mistake in telling him she needed space. She didn't need space, what she needed was his arms around her telling her it was going to be ok. What she needed was him.

**Ok, case solved. And no I haven't forgotten about the offer Beckett got from Montgomery, next chapter will deal with that I promise **


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Two chapters in two days? I think that's a record for me. Anyways I wanted to get this one up in honor of no Castle on TV tonight (at least in the US). Enjoy!**

Kate had been standing in from of Rick Castle's front door for almost half an hour. She wanted to be there, she was sure of it, but what if he was mad at her, upset about what she had said earlier? What if he didn't want her there anymore now that he had seen her freak out about publicity? He did say that he wasn't going to change who he was for her. She raised her hand to knock for what was probably the 20th time and dropped it again. She couldn't. she finally knew that she wanted to, and she couldn't bring herself to do it. God she had messed up so bad. But she had to try to set things right. If he didn't want her after that, well, she would find a way to deal with it.

She brought her hand up to knock just as the door flew open and Alexis ran right into her as she left the apartment. They both jumped back in surprise. "Detective?" Alexis said with a mixture of shock and confusion on her face.

"Oh, Alexis, hi. Um…I came to talk to your dad…" Beckett said hesitantly. She was looking for any sign in the redhead that Castle wasn't home or didn't want to talk to her.

"Yeah, um, he's in his office, you can go right on it, hopefully he left the door unlocked this time. Good luck." Alexis said, and was off down the hall.

Beckett stared after her for a minute before tentatively stepping inside the house and closing the door behind her. She knew where Castle's office was from the numerous nights they had spent in there working on cases after leaving the precinct. She knocked on the door and heard his voice from within say "mother I'll be out in a little while ok?"

Kate smiled and opened the door, taking a step inside. "If I'm your mother we are both screwed."

Castle spun around and stared, wide-eyed, at the brunette who had entered the room. She was the last person he had expected to see in his office that night. For a minute all he could do was stare at her, and try to take in how beautiful she looked. Her hair was slightly wet and her eyes were observing him, looking for some sign of what he was thinking. He could tell she was nervous and it was all he could do to keep from taking her up in his arms and telling her that she had no reason to be.

"I'm sorry, if this is a bad time or I shouldn't be here I can go…" she started but Castle stopped her.

"No, no its fine, I just…didn't expect to see you here."

"Yeah…" her face felt flushed as she tried to think of what she was going to say next. She hadn't really gotten that far in her though process. She took a deep breath and shook her head as she looked up at Castle. He had taken a couple of steps closer while she was looking down and she could see he was trying to control whatever emotions he was feeling. "I freaked out, earlier."

"Well, Creepy McStalker put your picture in the paper, I would have been concerned if you hadn't said anything."

She couldn't help but smile at his attempt to lighten the mood. She looked up at him and lost her train of thought in his blue eyes. She opened her mouth and shut it again, not able to formulate a coherent thought. She realized what the emotion he had been hiding was and it shocked her. He was actually happy to see her. He wasn't upset at all, but looking at her with such admiration that it took her breath away.

"Was there something else you wanted to say detective?" he asked, taking another step towards her.

"You're not upset about what happened?"

"If you mean mad you then no. I was… upset with myself for not being able to stop it, for not warning you about some of the publicity I get. I was upset with myself for not…protecting you." He was looking into her eyes as he reached a hand up to her cheek and kept talking. "I was hurt when you walked away, but I know you have a job to do. But I'm not mad at you, I don't think I ever really could be."

She took a deep breath and tried to forget about the fact that his hand was still on her face. "Castle, I know I'm hard to work with sometimes. I get caught up in things and snap at people. But you've been following me around for almost two years and haven't run screaming for the hills yet. Having you around has changed how we do our job and," she hesitated and looked up at him, so she could gauge his reaction. She knew he cared about her, but she wasn't sure about what she was saying. Taking the next step, and laying everything she was feeling on the line wasn't something she was used to. "It's changed me. I know that I'm strong, and I know I can hold my own, but I've come to realize that every once in a while I need someone to lean on. I've had a lot thrown at me the past two years since you've been around, hell I've had a lot thrown at me in the past week, and you've always been there, no questions asked. I've never had anyone like you before Castle, and today, I was really scared that I had done something to lose you. I need you Rick, and I want you around. I want you…with me." She gulped and waited for a response.

Castle stayed silent and watched as she talked. He heard the emotion in her voice and knew this was the chance he had been waiting for, the chance he had to show her how special she was to him. And he knew she was giving him that chance. She was finally letting him in. very rarely was he at a loss for words, but the way she talked, her eyes, everything about her seemed to have that effect on him, and it wasn't the first time. When she finished talking he didn't know how to tell her what he was thinking, so he decided to show her.

He moved his hand from her cheek to the back of her head and wove his fingers through her hair. He took a step closer and put the other hand on her hip, drawing her up against him. He leaned down and brushed his lips up against hers tentatively. When she tilted her head up to allow him better access he kissed her harder, more fiercely, trying to convey everything going through his head.

Oh god, she thought as he kissed her. This was amazing. They had kissed before, heck they had done more than kiss, but it had never been like this. They had both always held on to some sort of control. Her not wanting to admit how much she wanted and needed him, him trying not to push her too hard. She put her arms around his neck and he lifted her up a little bit. All of a sudden she was up against the bookshelf and she couldn't seem to catch her breath.

Rick picked that moment to pull back, leaning his forehead up against hers and pushing her hair out of her face. "You know, if we're really going to do this, really try and make this work, I'm going to be impossible to get rid of. You'll be stuck with me for a really long time."

They both laughed and she tilted her head to touch their lips together. "Castle, you're already impossible to get rid of, but I think I can handle it."

"So you'll stay tonight?" she bit her lip and nodded. "Good, let's go to bed. It's been a long day for both of us. And you can catch me up on what happened this afternoon."

Kate let herself be led upstairs and then let Castle take her coat from her. He tossed it on a chair and turned back to her. "I'm just going to take a shower really quick if you don't mind." She nodded and watched him go into the bathroom and close the door. Once she heard the water running she went to her space in the closet and pulled out a pair of sweatpants and her favorite comfy shirt. She crawled under the covers and curled up in a ball, thinking.

She inhaled the scent of Rick Castle, and kicked herself for not admitting that she needed him sooner. It had been so easy, he had accepted her with open arms, taken her back even though she had yelled at him earlier that afternoon. He was amazing, she had realized that a long time ago but now that she was letting her control go it was better than she had imagined. She only hoped that he would do the same. From the kiss they had shared in his office she had a feeling he would.

She didn't hear his get out of the shower but all of a sudden he was climbing into bed next to her. She rolled over and snuggled as close to him as she could, laying her head on his chest.

Rick was surprised at the sudden display of affection from Beckett but didn't complain. He was glad she was there and that was all that mattered. He put an arm around her and inhaled the scene of her cherry shampoo. He asked her about what happened that afternoon and listened in amazement as she told him about the panic room in Brians' house and finding Kaylee in there just sitting reading a book.

"Wait so you're telling me there was an actual panic room in this case and I missed it?"

She looked at him sheepishly "Sorry, Ryan said you would be mad."

He kissed her forehead "It's ok, I forgive you."

She smiled as she tried to get even closer to him. They laid for a little while in silence and just enjoyed each other's' company. Finally Kate spoke up. Her voice was groggy with sleep. "Castle, I'm glad I came back. I'm glad you're here."

He looked down and the woman in his arms. "I'm glad you came back too." He smiled and thought about all of the things they would do together. Maybe she would move in permanently now, even though the case was over. He fell asleep thinking about making her dinner by candlelight and taking her out. _Finally _he thought, _I can show her how much she means to me._

**I had people telling me I had better have them end up together so there you go :p**

**Not like I was planning on anything different. Next chapter will probably be the last but a sequel might be in the works. Let me know what you think? :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Ok guys, this is the last chapter of this story, but it's also the longest chapter I've ever posted. I really hope you enjoy this.**

**And a special thanks to ****stevieLUVSAlex for letting me steal an idea **

Kate woke up and realized she was still wrapped in Rick's arms. She didn't want to move and she tried to tell herself it was because she didn't want to wake him up. If she was being honest though, it was because she was warm and comfortable and felt safe. Not to mention how happy she felt waking up in his arms. She shifted slightly and smiled against his chest.

"Did you sleep well?"

She looked up at him with surprise. "How long have you been awake?"

"Oh about half an hour. I would have gotten up and started breakfast but you looked so cute and comfortable." He looked down at her with affection as her cheeks turned a shade of bright red and she rolled away from him to stretch. His eyes traveled from her adorable bed hair down to her chest, then down her legs and back up to her eyes, which were staring at him with a smile dancing just below the surface. Castle continued "you drool in your sleep you know."

"Castle! I do not!" she grabbed one of the pillows and hit him with it before getting up and going into the bathroom.

Castle smiled and when he heard the shower running he got up and followed her. She stuck her head out of the shower when she heard the door open. She saw castle peeling his shirt off and her jaw dropped. She had a tendency of forgetting how good looking he was. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"Joining you" he said with a huge grin.

"Is your daughter still home?"

"Yeah."

"And your mother?"

"Mhmm."

"Then you can wait your turn." She said, pulling her head back into the shower and starting to hum to herself.

Castle pouted for a second but headed downstairs to get breakfast started. By the time Beckett got out of the shower he had two plates of pancakes and a pot of coffee made. She grabbed one of each and they headed for the couch.

Castle flipped on the news then turned to Beckett "So now that the case is over, have you thought about what you're going to do about the captains offer?"

She winced and didn't say anything for a second. She didn't want to talk about it but she knew she had to. "I'm not ready for it Castle. I tried to tell him that but he didn't listen."

Castle put an arm around her. "Kate you would be great at captain. Everybody respects you, and you know this city so well. You could do a lot of good in that position."

She looked at him . "I think I would be good at it, but that's not what I said. I said I wasn't ready for it. I'm going to go and talk to Montgomery about it this afternoon I think."

After that Rick was sure she didn't want to talk about it anymore so he dropped the subject. When they were both done he took their plates and put them in the dishwasher before heading up or his turn in the shower.

"Hey Castle, don't take too long, I have a surprise for you." Beckett said as she grabbed the remote and changed the channel. He gave her a confused look but shrugged and continued upstairs. Beckett smiled as she thought of what she had planned for him. It was nothing big, but she wanted to give him something as a thank you for taking her back so easily the previous night.

A little while later they were in the car with Kate driving and Rick asking where they were going every few minutes. she couldn't help but laugh at his childlike excitement . finally they pulled up outside of a house Castle had never seen before. He looked all around him trying to figure it out and then turned to the brunette next to him. "Ok I give up, where the hell are we?"

She grinned at him and said "at your surprise. Now before I show it to you will you promise me something?"

The nervous look in her eyes told him she needed him to be serious for a second. "Anything"

"After this, will you come talk to Montgomery with me?"

He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her soft lips. "Of course. Now can I have my surprise?"

She laughed and got out of the car, motioning him to follow her. She walked up the front steps of the house and pulled a key out of her pocket to unlock the door. Before she opened it she turned around to face him. "Castle there are a couple more conditions to this surprise. You can't touch anything unless I tell you to, and you can't tell anyone, or use this in one of your books. Technically speaking we aren't supposed to be here." After he nodded she opened the door and took a couple steps inside, closing the door behind him.

"Detective, are you breaking rules for me?"

"Since nobody is ever going to find out about this it doesn't matter now does it?" she grinned at him over her shoulder and led him into the living room. When he came to stand beside her facing the couch she spread her arms out and yelled "Tada! Here's your surprise!"

He looked around for anything unusual about the room. When he didn't find anything he frowned and looked at her. "Ok, I give up again. You win this round, what is going on?"

She pointed at the picture that was hanging next to the couch. "Go over there, and take that picture off the wall."

He slowly walked over to the picture and lifted it off the hook, setting it on the couch. Behind it was a small electronic keypad. He turned to Kate with a puzzled look and waited for directions.

"Now type in the numbers 1-0-2-3-8-9"

He raised an eyebrow but punched the numbers in. When there was a quiet mechanical hiss to his left he whirled around and stifled a squeak as his hands flew to his mouth. He whipped around to face Kate, then back to the panel that had opened in the wall and back to Kate again. She nodded with a huge smile on her face and he dashed over and opened the panel further to reveal the metal door behind it. His jaw dropped and he ran his hands over it before running back up to Beckett.

"Is this…how did you…what…can I really?" he stammered, looking happier than a 6-year-old on Christmas morning. She was amazed at how excited he was.

She nodded and pointed at the door in the wall. "I told you we weren't supposed to be here, and we can't stay for long, but yes, you really can to play with it. You have five minutes." her breath was cut off as Castle wrapped his strong arms around her and actually picked her up and twirled her around once before setting her back down and racing over to the door. He pulled it open slowly and stepped inside. He brought his hands up to his mouth and he mumbled "this is so cool."

She stood with her arms crossed over her chest watching him enjoy himself. She was glad she could do this for him, even if it wasn't much. Even though he had played it cool she knew he was upset that he hadn't been there when they had pulled Kaylee out of that very room, and she knew he was disappointed that he hadn't gotten to see the panic room with everyone else. She walked closer to him and leaned against the frame of the metal-lined room. She looked at him affectionately as he ran his hands over the few dials, and the one small TV monitor that was in the room. It was low-tech as far as these things went, but she could tell he loved it all the same.

"She was in here, when we came to get her." Castle turned to the sound of her voice and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her again. "She was sitting in that corner, reading a book." Kate pointed when he let her go. She could feel the emotion boiling that she hadn't let to the surface last time she was here. "She was just sitting there, reading a book, like nothing was going on, like nothing was wrong."

Castle put a hand under her chin and turned her face to look at him. "She's gone now, and nothing is going to get to you like that again, I promise."

She sniffed back tears and looked down. "You can't promise that Castle, nobody can."

"Kate, I'm not going to let anything like this happen again. I'm going to do everything in my power to keep you away from this kind of press and publicity. You mean everything to me and you didn't deserve any of this."

She smiled at how protective he was being. She kind of liked it. But even with him standing right there she couldn't help but continue to think of the woman who had been sitting in that room the day before. "She was just sitting there," she said again, knowing that she sounded like a broken record but not able to get the image out of her head. "She didn't even care, she didn't care that we were here, that we had found her, that she was going to jail. None of it mattered to her."

Castle wrapped an arm around her and walked with her back out into the living room. He left her for a second to shut both of the doors in the wall and then he was back and his arm was around her waist. She leaned into him as they walked back out to the car. "Kate, honey, she's gone now. You put her where she belongs. Plus she was crazy, people like that…they don't think right, they think things like this are just a game. But she can't do anything else to you."

She nodded and wiped away a tear as they reached the car. Before she went around to her side she turned around and wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry Rick, thanks."

He held her tight for a minute before letting go so she could get into the car. "No detective, thank you. This was amazing." He backtracked quickly as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "No, no you being upset wasn't amazing, that part kinda sucks, I mean the whole you breaking the rules to get me into a real life panic room. That part was amazing."

"Yeah ok Castle, I think you just like getting me upset so you can comfort me after." She started the car and they pulled out, heading for the precinct.

"Ok, I like comforting you but that's beside the point."

She chuckled as he lightened the mood as always. He reached up and rested his hand on the back of her neck, slowly running his fingers through her hair. She had to fight the urge to close her eyes and revel in the feeling. Not many people knew it but Detective Beckett loved it when people played with her hair. They drove the rest of the way to the precinct in silence, just enjoying being close to each other.

They pulled up to the precinct and Beckett turned off the car but didn't move. She just sat there with her hands still on the wheel thinking. What was she doing? She did want to be captain, it was what she had originally started working towards. But so much had changed since she had gotten out of the academy. Nothing was what she had expected it to be. As a rookie you see everything differently. Her priorities had changed dramatically over the last couple of years, she had changed. Captain wasn't what she wanted anymore, wasn't what she needed right now, and she had to focus on that. She knew she would be letting Montgomery down but she had to do what was right for her. She wasn't ready for the position and she knew it. She didn't realize she had gotten so lost in her own little world until she jumped when Castle put his hand on hers. "Sorry, I was…thinking."

"Are you ok?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned. It was a wonder she hadn't given in to him sooner.

She chewed on her bottom lip for a second before answering. "I don't like the answer I'm about to give him, but I know it's what I have to do." She turned towards Castle as much as the car would allow. "Rick when I was straight out of the academy, besides finding who killed my mom, captain was what I wanted more than anything. I wanted to prove that I could work my way up and come out on top. But that isn't what I want anymore. Montgomery said I could do a lot of good for this precinct, and I think he's right, but I can't take the job. I just…I don't want to disappoint him. He has done so much for me…" she let her voice trail off and looked up to see Castle smiling at her.

"Kate, I've told you before and I'll tell you again. You're extraordinary. And if you tell him exactly what you just told me, I think he will understand. As much as he might want you to take this job I don't think he would push you into something you don't want. He'll understand."

Kate nodded and got out of the car. Rick followed her to the elevator and rubbed her back gently as they rode up. The doors opened and when she looked up at him he could see something in her eyes he rarely ever saw. She was genuinely nervous and worried. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring look and they got off the elevator.

She walked right up to Montgomery's door and knocked. When she got the ok to come in her and Castle filed into the office and she closed the door behind them. Castle sat down on the couch behind her and waited. "Sir can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Of course. It's good to see you're ok after this case. It was a hard one."

"Thanks sir, but this is about…your offer." She saw him lean to the side and glance around her to where Castle was sitting. "He knows about it, I asked him to be here."

Montgomery nodded. "Talk to me."

She took a deep breath and braced herself. "Sir, I'm sorry but my answer has to stay the same as the first time you asked me. I want the job, but I can't accept it right now." She told him everything she had been thinking and said out loud in the car with Castle. She told him how originally she had wanted the position of Captain almost as much as she had wanted to find her mothers' killer. But then her priorities had shifted, things had changed. She had seen how this job really was and wasn't ready to leave the position she was in. "I'd like to think that I do a lot for this city sir, and I think I have a lot more that I need to do before I can take myself off the streets willingly. There is a lot more I still have to learn about this job, and this city and about myself sir, and until I learn those things I can't accept the position of captain."

Castle's eyes went back and forth from Beckett to Montgomery and he watched the interaction with interest. he noticed how she got more confident as she started talking. And he could see in the captains eyes how much he respected the woman standing in front of him even though he was her superior. He watched as she finished speaking and took a deep breath, and he watched as a smile slowly crawled across Montgomerys lips.

"Thank you detective."

"Sir?"

"Thank you for taking the time to think about it. And thank you for being honest with me. Not a lot of people would be willing to say those things to their superior, and especially after this last case I can imagine it was hard for you." He sat and thought in silence for a moment and Beckett started to wonder if he was going to say anything else. Then he continued "You are good for this city detective, and for this precinct, and I think that even though you get caught up sometimes, and get lost in the job-"

She cut him off "Sir, I don't get lo-"

"Detective don't think I never noticed the late nights you spent, or when you ended up sleeping on the couch in the break room, or how focused you get on certain cases. I think at times this job is a black hole for you detective, but I also think it does you a lot of good, getting to help people like you do. No matter what there is always a job for you at this precinct, and you stay where you are for as long as you need to."

Both Castle and Beckett were stunned at the captains' speech, and at his insight into Beckett's relationship with her job. Beckett realized that she didn't know what to say. "Um, thank you very much sir."

The captain nodded. "You've had a lot to deal with this past week detective. Would you object to me asking you to take the rest of the day off?"

"Normally sir yes I would," she took a deep breath. "But right now I think I could do with some time away from everything."

"Alright then. Thanks again Beckett."

"Thank you too sir, I'll see you tomorrow."

Caste stood up and followed Beckett out of the office and back to the elevator. She didn't say anything until the doors closed. The second they were out of eyesight of anyone else she ran her hands through her hair and buried herself in his shoulder. She didn't cry but her legs felt almost weak. Between breaking down earlier that morning and the conversation she had just had with the captain she felt completely drained. It was all she could do to keep herself upright, even with Castle's strong arms around her.

"You alright?" he asked as he pulled her back to look her in the eyes and make sure she wasn't going to start crying again.

"I'm…I don't know what I am. But I'll be ok. Just…take me home?"

He smiled and nodded. The elevator beeped as they reached their stop and he let her go, knowing she didn't like public displays of affection. She surprised him by clasping his hand in hers before heading off towards the car. As they walked he looked down at their interlocked hands and thought. He thought about the remarkable woman walking next to him, and how she amazed him every day. He thought about how strong she was and how beautiful she was even when she let her weak side show. He thought about how well he knew her, and as they reached the car and she looked at him across the roof he thought about how there was something just under the surface of her eyes that he didn't quite know yet, but couldn't wait to find.

**Ok I know a couple of you are going to be upset that I didn't have to take the job as Captain, but I liked it better this way. Please don't hate me too much xD**

**As Always reviews are appreciated, and for those of you who really liked this story, there is going to be a sequel in the works very soon so keep an eye open.**

**Also thank you to everyone who reviewed, and added me and this story to your alerts/favorites. You guys are the reason I keep writing :D**


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